See how Jackson area and state schools ranked in U.S. News and World Report rankings
One of the Jackson metropolitan area's public high schools has been ranked in the Top 10 in the state for the recently released "Best Mississippi High Schools" by U.S. News and World Report.
Madison Central High School was ranked No. 9 for the 2023-24 school year. That's good for No. 1 in the Jackson metropolitan area and 2,489 for the entire nation.
In August, the Madison County School District was recognized as the largest school district in the state to score in the overall Top 10 districts on the 2023 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program in two subject areas: math and English language arts.
"We are fortunate at Madison Central High School that our students, staff, faculty, and administration all pull in the same direction regarding lofty academic, extracurricular, and social expectations," Madison Central Principal Teague Burchfield. "With that said, the 2022-23 school year at Madison Central proved to be a banner year.
"Whether it be successes in the area of PSAT and ACT with 26 National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Scholars and 126 30+ students, respectively, or a Clarion Ledger All Sports Award, All Superior Band and Show Choir along with a nationally recognized Speech & Debate team, as well as over 60 clubs and organizations that our students utilize to find their place here, we are proud of the product at Madison Central and look forward to continued successes in the future."
The Mississippi School for Math and Science in Columbus was the state's top-ranked public school. It came in at No. 144 nationally, by far the best in the state. Mississippi's second-ranked public school was Ocean Springs, which ranked 818th nationally in the U.S. News report. Those were the only Mississippi schools among the nation's top 1,000 public schools.
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How it's ranked
The U.S. News and World Report ranks schools based on six categories, and each category is worth a certain percentage.
30%: college readiness, this is based off of the proportions of 12th-graders who took and earned a "qualifying score" on at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam — if a student earns a qualifying score, then it is worth three times more than just taking the exam.
20%: state assessment proficiency, which is the total score on the assessments the state requires that students have to pass for graduation.
20%: state assessment performance, measured by the comparison between the total scores on state assessments and the U.S News' expectations with the proportions of students who are Black, Hispanic and from low-income households.
10%: underserved student performance, based off of the scores on state assessment just from students who are Black, Hispanic and from low-income households. The U.S. News' compares these scores with what is "typical" in the state for non-undeserved students.
10%: college curriculum breadth, U.S. News' measures this by how many 12th graders took and earned a qualifying score on AP and IB exams in multiple areas.
10%: graduation rate, measured by ninth graders who graduated four academic years later.
Jackson Metro High Schools
9: Madison Central High School, Madison, 1,169 students.
19: Northwest Rankin High School, Flowood, 1,768 students.
22: Raymond High School, Raymond, 538 students
31: Brandon High School, Brandon, 1,589 students.
33: Germantown High School, Madison County, 1,275 students.
36: Clinton High School, Clinton, 1,150 students.
39: Terry High School, Terry, 1,178 students
47: McLaurin Attendance Center, Florence, 330 students.
48: Velma Jackson High School, Camden, 236 students.
52: Ridgeland High School, Ridgeland, 880 students.
60: Murrah High School, Jackson, 1,342 students.
96: Richland High School, Richland, 533 students.
105: Puckett Attendance Center, Puckett, 220 students.
111: Florence High School, Florence, 709 students.
112: Pisgah High School, Pisgah, 277 students.
143-230: Callaway High School, Jackson, 904 students.
143-230: Forest Hill School, Jackson, 934 students
143-230: Jim Hill High School, Jackson, 885 students
143-230: Lanier High School, Jackson, 556 students
143-230: Pelahatchie Attendance Center, Pelahatchie, 242 students.
143-230: Provine High School, Jackson, 764 students.
143-230: Wingfield High School, Jackson, 624 students.
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Top 10 best public high schools in the state
1: Mississippi School for Math and Science, Columbus, 232 students.
2: Ocean Springs High School, Ocean Springs School District, 1,821 students
3: Lewisburg High School, Olive Branch, Desoto County School District, 1,226 students.
4: Biloxi High School, Biloxi Public School District, 1,703 students.
5: Natchez Early College Academy, Natchez-Adams School District, 189 students.
6: Pass Christian High School, Pass Christian Public School District, 640 students.
7: Petal High School, Petal School District, 1,290 students.
8: Hernando High School, Hernando, Desoto County School District,, 1,369 students.
9: Madison Central High School, Madison, Madison County School District, 1,169 students.
10: D'Iberville High School, D'Iberville, Biloxi Public School District, 1,363 students.
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi schools ranked by U.S. News and World Report
