Newsweek Ranks 15 S.D. Schools as Tops

Published: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 3:31 PM PDT

PRINT     E-MAIL STORY    SHARE

FACEBOOK

REDDIT

NEWSVINE

DIGG

DEL.ICIO.US

BLINKLIST

Fifteen high schools in San Diego Unified School District were listed by Newsweek magazine on its yearly roster of the nation's best public high schools, with a local charter school ranking sixth nationwide.

The Preuss School, a charter school operated by the University of California, San Diego, ranked 6th in the country. The School for International Studies, one of the six high schools that compose the San Diego High complex, ranked 71st.

For the second year running, Preuss and International Studies are the only two schools in San Diego County to rank in the top 100, according to a school district press release:

The schools and their rankings: Preuss UCSD (6), San Diego High School for International Studies (71), University City (222), Serra (233), Mira Mesa (332), Point Loma (351), Scripps Ranch (358), Patrick Henry (361), Muir (430), San Diego School of Creative & Performing Arts (557), La Jolla (972), Madison (1036), San Diego High School of Business (1059), Mission Bay (1239), and Clairemont (1310).

The rankings are based on the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests taken at the school, divided by the number of graduating seniors.

Some educators criticize the rankings for giving too much weight to the AP and IB tests, without assessing other measures of student improvement and achievement. Here's one interesting take from Teacher Magazine.

Do the rankings matter to you? Shoot me an e-mail with your thoughts.

-- EMILY ALPERT