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Top Public High Schools

The 2009 list of America’s top public high schools as reported by Jay Mathews:

“Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 6 percent of public schools measured this way.”

Link to Explanation of Results

  2009                       
  RANK SCHOOL LOCATION STATE INDEX SUBS. LUNCH E&E
1 Talented and Gifted Dallas Texas 16.109 25 65.2
2 Science/Engineering Magnet Dallas Texas 14.89 49 100
3 Jefferson County IBS Irondale Ala. 13.403 11 100
4 Stanton College Prep ** Jacksonville Fla. 11.462 4 100
5 BASIS Charter Tucson Ariz. 11.35 n/a 100
6 Paxon School for Advanced Studies Jacksonville Fla. 9.638 n/a 79
7 Suncoast Community ** Riviera Beach Fla. 9.113 15 87
8 Corbett Corbett Ore. 9.111 25 32
9 North Hills Prep Irving Texas 8.639 2 93.5
10 Preuss UCSD La Jolla Calif. 8.33 100 100
11 International School Bellevue Wash. 7.531 5 100
12 Academic Magnet North Charleston S.C. 7.416 9 100
13 City Honors ** Buffalo N.Y. 7.186 28 96
14 Classen School of Advanced Studies Oklahoma City Okla. 7.058 25 33
15 School for Advanced Studies Miami Fla. 7.044 42 81.8
16 Oxford Academy Cypress Calif. 6.94 17 100
17 Communications Arts San Antonio Texas 6.839 14 60
18 Interlake ** Bellevue Wash. 6.838 24 58
19 The Early College at Guilford Greensboro N.C. 6.633 7 92
20 Eastside** Gainesville Fla. 6.624 47 46
  21 University Tucson Ariz. 6.318 15 100
22 International Academy Bloomfield Hills Mich. 6.159 3 100
23 Highland Park Dallas Texas 6.108 n/a 71.5
24 Center for Advanced Technologies St. Petersburg Fla. 6.011 14 24
25 Coral Reef ** Miami Fla. 5.874 37 65
26 Signature ** Evansville Ind. 5.765 8 88
27 Sturgis Charter Public Hyannis Mass. 5.721 10 93
28 Hume-Fogg Academic Nashville Tenn. 5.514 13 90
29 Martin Luther King Academic Magnet Nashville Tenn. 5.481 16 96
  30 Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Arcata Calif. 5.444 35 89
31 Troy ** Fullerton Calif. 5.442 13 59
32 Science Academy of South Texas Mercedes Texas 5.43 44 n/a
33 Raleigh Charter Raleigh N.C. 5.375 n/a 100
34 Newport Bellevue Wash. 5.348 7 77
  35 Liberal Arts and Science Academy Austin Texas 5.299 25 68
36 H-B Woodlawn Arlington Va. 5.25 13 86
37 Jericho Jericho N.Y. 5.193 n/a 80
38 Richard Montgomery Rockville Md. 5.188 16 62
39 Pacific Collegiate Santa Cruz Calif. 5.182 n/a 100
40 Pine View School for the Gifted Osprey Fla. 5.067 7 100
41 Clarke County ** Berryville Va. 5.061 13 80
42 Anderson School of Arts Jacksonville Fla. 5.054 8 50.4
43 Myers Park Charlotte N.C. 5.007 26 60
44 Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies Los Angeles Calif. 5 41 59
45 South Side Rockville Centre N.Y. 4.955 13 78
46 Hillsborough Tampa Fla. 4.935 60 42
47 Sammamish Bellevue Wash. 4.923 27 47
48 Rickards Tallahassee Fla. 4.878 48 40
49 MAST Academy Miami Fla. 4.767 30 70
50 Dreyfoos School of the Arts West Palm Beach Fla. 4.714 11 80.5
51 Benjamin Franklin New Orleans La. 4.683 43 98
52 Atlantic Community ** Delray Beach Fla. 4.659 41 53
53 Pensacola ** Pensacola Fla. 4.573 61 34
54 Great Neck South Great Neck N.Y. 4.564 7 81
55 Bethesda-Chevy Chase Bethesda Md. 4.552 9 69
56 Hawthorne Math & Science Academy Hawthorne Calif. 4.545 77 73.4
57 Northside College Prep Chicago Ill. 4.52 32 93
58 Wootton Rockville Md. 4.499 5 75
59 San Diego High School for International Studies San Diego Calif. 4.476 52 78
60 Walnut Hills Cincinnati Ohio 4.475 17 82
61 Peak to Peak Charter Lafayette Colo. 4.447 6 69
62 Little Rock Central Little Rock Ark. 4.442 35 33
63 Rye Rye N.Y. 4.373 3 81
64 Bronxville Bronxville N.Y. 4.348 1 86
65 C. Leon King Magnet ** Tampa Fla. 4.341 43 44.7
66 George Mason ** Falls Church Va. 4.327 7 67
67 Washington-Lee ** Arlington Va. 4.321 30 41
68 Lowell San Francisco Calif. 4.293 31 n/a
69 Wyoming Wyoming Ohio 4.288 5 70
70 South Texas High School for Health Professions Mercedes Texas 4.275 55 60
71 W. T. Woodson Fairfax Va. 4.229 7 62
72 Westlake Austin Texas 4.216 3 62
73 Harrison Harrison N.Y. 4.179 13 52
74 Booker T. Washington ** Tulsa Okla. 4.175 38 41
75 Loveless Academic Magnet Montgomery Ala. 4.174 10 97
76 Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor N.Y. 4.172 n/a 76
77 West Shore Melbourne Fla. 4.133 4 75
78 Bellevue Bellevue Wash. 4.132 9 60
79 Plant Tampa Fla. 4.131 11 41.9
80 YES Prep Southeast Houston Texas 4.052 77 67
81 Weaver Academy Grensboro N.C. 4.047 n/a 92
82 Enloe ** Raleigh N.C. 4.04 28 n/a
83 Boca Raton Community Boca Raton Fla. 4.01 21 27.9
84 MATCH Charter Boston Mass. 4 71 36
85 McNair Academic Jersey City N.J. 3.993 45 80
86 Buchholz Gainesville Fla. 3.981 28 49
  87 KIPP Houston Houston Texas 3.98 88 96
88 Westwood ** Austin Texas 3.978 8 61.4
  89 Northland Prep Academy Flagstaff Ariz. 3.966 5 76.7
90 Walton Marietta Ga. 3.943 3 52
91 International School of the Americas San Antonio Texas 3.917 16 49
92 Nease ** St. Augustine Fla. 3.915 6 51
  93 Mystic Valley Regional Charter Malden Mass. 3.909 22 85
94 Winston Churchill Potomac Md. 3.897 3 76
95 Odyssey Academy ** Rochester N.Y. 3.897 13 38
96 Metro Academic & Classical ** St. Louis Mo. 3.885 31 56
97 Fort Myers ** Fort Myers Fla. 3.842 28 64
98 Yorktown Arlington Va. 3.809 13 63
99 Design & Architecture Sr High Miami Fla. 3.809 36 n/a
100 Langley McLean Va. 3.807 1 76

**Includes IB and/or Cambridge tests. Nearly all other schools use just AP tests.