Which high schools are best and worst in Columbus area? U.S. News releases 2023 rankings
Columbus High School is the second-best public high school in Georgia for the third straight year, according to a national ranking released Tuesday.
The U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best High Schools list ranks Columbus High, a liberal arts magnet school, behind only Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in the state.
This year’s list ranks 17,680 public high schools out of nearly 25,000 reviewed, according to the magazine. The publication says it didn’t analyze public high schools with fewer than 15 students in 12th grade or “sufficient” enrollment in other grades during the 2020-21 school year. No explanation for how many students would be sufficient is given in the methodology.
Compared to last year, the national ranking among the 13 ranked high schools in the Columbus area increased for six of them, decreased for four of them and were undisclosed for three of them because they still are ranked in the bottom 25%, which U.S. News doesn’t disclose.
Among local schools, Russell County had the largest increase in the national rankings, up by 1,970 spots to 8,081, and Smiths Station had the largest decrease, down by down by at least 3,445 spots, falling into the bottom 25%.
Here are the rankings for all local public high schools, listed by their state ranking, with their national ranking in parentheses, and how they compare to last year’s list:
Georgia public high school rankings
2. Columbus (75), stayed the same in state, up by 8 in nation.
87. Northside (3,837), stayed the same in state, up by 84 in nation.
168. Harris County (7,640), up by 10 in state, down by 425 in nation.
192. Shaw (8,393), up by 16 in state, up by 724 in nation.
197. Hardaway (8,648), down by 6 in state, down by 323 in nation.
242. Chattahoochee County (10,335), up by at least 69 in state, up by at least 3,048 in nation, but the exact figure is unclear because rankings for bottom 25% aren’t disclosed.
287. Carver (12,076), down by 1 in state, up by 212 in nation.
314-409. Jordan, Kendrick and Spencer (13,261-17,680) remained the same in state and nation.
Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts isn’t ranked because its enrollment of 166 students in grades 9-12 during the 2020-21 school year wasn’t enough to qualify, according to the metrics.
Alabama public high school rankings
120. Central-Phenix City (7,752), down by 26 in state, down by 655 in nation.
128. Russell County (8,081), up by 67 in state, up by 1,970 in nation.
237-359. Smiths Station (13,261-17,680), down by at least 49 in state, down by at least 3,445 in nation, but exact figure unclear because rankings for bottom 25% aren’t disclosed.
U.S. News & World Report high school rankings methodology
In coordination with North Carolina-based RTI International, a nonprofit social science research firm, U.S. News & World Report used six factors in it formula for the rankings:
College readiness (30%), measured by the proportion of 12th-grades who took and earned a qualifying score on Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams.
College curriculum breadth (10%), measured by the percentage of 12th-graders who took and earned qualifying scores on multiple AP or IB exams.
State assessment proficiency (20%), measured by comparing the school’s total scores on their state’s standardized tests in math, reading and science to other schools in their state.
State assessment performance (20%), measured by comparing the school’s total scores on their state’s standardized tests in math, reading and science to what U.S. News predicted for that school based on its demographics.
Underserved student performance (10%), measured by assessing learning outcomes among Black, Hispanic and students from low-income families, based on their state standardize test scores compared to the average non-underserved students.
Graduation rate (10%), measured by the proportion of students entering ninth grade in the 2017-18 school year who graduated by 2021.
