Newsweek and research partner Westat, a national research survey company, assessed high schools on six factors: graduation rate, college-bound rate, enrollment in college preparedness classes, SAT/ACT scores, student retention, and counselor-to-student ratio.
According to Newsweek, the three top-rated schools in Texas are the School For the Talented and Gifted at No. 26 (Dallas), Cedar Hill Collegiate High School at No. 76 (Cedar Hill) and DeBakey High School for Health Professionals at No. 91 (Houston).
From CHISD:
The ranking places Cedar Hill Collegiate High School at 76th in a small, elite group that tops the more than 24,000 high schools in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Cedar Hill Collegiate High School also earned a Gold Star in Newsweek’s rankings for meeting an “Equity” standard in the study by helping low-income students score at or above average on state assessments.
Opened in 2008, Cedar Hill Collegiate High School has earned numerous awards and distinctions for outstanding academics in its partnership with Cedar Valley Community College, a member of the Dallas County Community College District.
“This is another proud day for our collegiate high school, the Cedar Hill Independent School District and our community,” said Cedar Hill ISD Superintendent Orlando Riddick. “The high school has set the pace for our newly innovative collegiate pathway, which is a Pre-K through 14 model that extends into our new middle and elementary schools, Collegiate Academy and Collegiate Prep.”
Ranked 76th, Cedar Hill Collegiate High School compares favorably with many other districts in affluent suburban areas outside major cities, including New York, Chicago and San Francisco, among others. At Cedar Hill Collegiate, roughly 40 percent of the program’s students come from families in which they are first-generation college-level students, Mr. Riddick said.
“Our faculty, staff, parents and – most of all – our students have worked very hard in a very demanding program that sets our kids up to excel wherever they choose to go for higher education,” said Cedar Hill Collegiate Principal Jackie Fagan.
Students who attend Cedar Hill Collegiate High School can earn up to 60 college credits toward their associate degrees along with their high school diplomas.
Newsweek hired a research firm, Westat, to help analyze schools districts around the country and calculate the rankings, according to the news organization. “The 2015 Newsweek High School Rankings assess schools based on a broad range of data to determine which institutions do the best job of preparing students for college.”
The two other Texas high schools ranked in the top 100 are the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas, ranked 36th, and DeBakey High School for Health Programs in Houston, ranked 91st.
The Cedar Hill school district as a whole also earned high marks earlier this month. The district achieved the state’s highest rating — Met Standard – from the Texas Education Agency for the second year in a row.
See more at the link to Newsweek below.