MPS magnet high schools rank among best in Alabama; LAMP makes top 1% nationwide
U.S. News & World Report released its annual high school rankings by state and across the nation as August came to a close, and several Montgomery Public Schools received top honors.
All three MPS institutions that made it into the top 20 high schools in Alabama were magnets: Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School and Booker T. Washington Magnet High School.
“A great high school educates all students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation,” U.S. News’s data strategists Robert Morse and Eric Brooks wrote in an explanation of their methodology.
Of 17,680 public high schools scored, LAMP ranked in the top 1% nationally. The school earned a near-perfect grade of 99.92/100 for its college readiness, curriculum breadth and ACT scores.
In addition to those factors, U.S. News considers state assessment performance rank, which the outlet describes as “how aggregated scores on state assessments compare with U.S. News' expectations given the proportions of students who are Black, Hispanic and from low-income households.”
LAMP was also named the best public high school in Alabama, once again beating out Mountain Brook High School for the No. 1 spot. LAMP and MBHS have earned the first and second rankings year after year since 2013.
BrewTech grabbed the No. 7 spot in the state with an overall grade of 95.65/100. U.S. News emphasized the school’s high Advanced Placement participation rate of 62% and the fact that total minority enrollment is 82%.
A little further down the list, BTW Magnet High School made the No. 16 spot across Alabama for its ACT scores and expansive curriculum choices. BTW’s overall score was a 90.35, and U.S. News highlighted the school’s 87% minority enrollment and noted that 30% of students are economically disadvantaged. Also, BTW has a 38% AP participation rate.
"These rankings are a testament to the incredible work of our educators and the high standards we set,” MPS Superintendent Melvin Brown said in a statement after the list was announced. “We welcome this opportunity to celebrate our successes as we work toward our goal of having all schools rank among the best."
Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Two MPS high schools rank among top 10 in state, one ranks nationally
