Northwest Arkansas high schools top U.S. News rankings for state

Arkansas’ top three public high schools are all in the northwest corner of the state, according to U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings, released Tuesday.

Haas Hall Academy once again leads the state and is 13th in the national ranking, after placing 50th on last year’s national list. The charter school operates campuses in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale with a combined enrollment of about 1,330 students.

“Our successes are because of our highly qualified faculty, engaged scholars and dedicated parents,” said Martin Schoppmeyer, superintendent and founder of the school.

Haas Hall was founded in 2004 and has ranked first in the state for 11 years, he said.

Schoppmeyer said he was pleased to see the school’s national ranking improve this year.

“It goes to show hard work pays off,” he said.

Founders Classical Academy in Bentonville, formerly known as Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, ranks second in the state — up from 82nd last year — and 201st nationally.

The K-12 charter school was founded in 2013 and has around 950 students, according to Susan Provenza, state director of classical schools. It began as a K-8 school and grew into its high school as students advanced in grade level and is set to graduate its fifth class of seniors in May, she said.

“We’re thrilled — absolutely ecstatic,” she said in reaction to the school’s No. 2 ranking.

She credited the school’s staff for the significant jump in comparison to last year. The school, managed by ResponsiveEd Solutions of Lewisville, Texas, is opening a second campus in Rogers in August.

Bentonville High School is third in the state and 630th in the nation, according to the rankings. The school, which serves more than 3,000 students, moved up from fourth place in the state and 653rd in the nation last year.

The rankings show Bentonville High School is the No. 1 large comprehensive high school in the state, since the first two schools are both charters, said Principal Jack Loyd.

“It makes my heart proud because on a daily basis, I see what our teachers do; they work so hard,” Loyd said. “This is the fruits of their labor.”

Northwest Arkansas schools accounted for six of the top eight on the list of Arkansas’ top public high schools. The others were New Technology High School in Rogers, fifth; Fayetteville High School, seventh; and Bentonville West High School, eighth.

Other high-ranking high schools in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley include Eureka Springs High School at No. 11, Fort Smith’s Southside High School at No. 12; Greenwood High School at No. 13, Arkansas Arts Academy in Rogers at No. 16 and Springdale’s Tyson School of Innovation at No. 17.

Other large schools of note in the region and their ranking: Rogers High School, 26; Springdale’s Har-Ber High School, 43; Rogers’ Heritage High School, 78; Fort Smith’s Northside High School, 120; and Springdale High School, 181.

The U. S. News rankings include data on nearly 24,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia, including 267 high schools in Arkansas. The rankings encompass not only traditional high schools but also charter; magnet; and science, technology, engineering and math-focused schools, according to the publication’s website.

The ranking methodology focuses on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates, according to a news release from U.S. News. College readiness specifically measures participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, and underserved student performance focuses on students who are Black, Hispanic or from low-income households. For the first time, science proficiency and performance was also incorporated into the methodology for states where science assessment data was available, according to the release.

U. S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the methodology.

Visit www.usnews.com/education for more information.