Magazine ranks OKC district schools among state’s best
Oklahoma City Public Schools boasts four of the top five high schools in the state, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Three of those schools are charters, with Harding Charter Preparatory High School claiming the top spot, followed by Dove Science Academy (charter) and Classen High School of Advanced Studies.
Charter schools receive government funding but operate independently of the established state school system in which they are located.
Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School and Oklahoma City’s Harding Fine Arts Academy, a charter, round out the Top 5, the publication’s 2018 Best High School rankings show.
The rankings, released Wednesday, evaluate more than 20,500 public high schools nationwide to identify schools that best serve all of their students and assess the degree to which students are prepared for collegelevel coursework.
Harding Charter Prep, which ranked 150th nationally among high schools, has a 95 percent graduation rate, and offers Advanced Placement course work and exams to all students.
The school’s senior class, which numbers 102 students, has earned about $5 million in scholarship money, Principal Mylo Miller told The Oklahoman.
“We’re thrilled with the No. 1 ranking,” Miller said. “It’s been a good year. We’re really pleased with what’s going on. Harding’s a lot about work ethic.”
U.S. News ranked Edmond North High School the sixth-best high school in Oklahoma, followed by Thomas Edison Preparatory High School (Tulsa), Edmond Memorial High School, Norman High School and Edmond Santa Fe High School.
The publication ranked Southeast High School (Oklahoma City) No. 11, followed by Deer Creek High School (Edmond), Bartlesville High School, Westmoore High School (Oklahoma City) and Dove Science Academy (Tulsa).
Southeast gives Oklahoma City Public Schools five of the state’s Top 20 schools.
“These schools all have one thing in common — increased rigor through Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses,” said Mark Mann, a school board member whose district includes Classen School of Advanced Studies.
“The data shows that when high schools utilize these courses student achievement follows. I congratulate the students, teachers and staff of these schools for blazing a path of excellence.”
Rounding out the Top 20 are Bixby High School, Carl Albert High School (Midwest City), Pauls Valley High School, Stillwater High School and Yukon High School.
Top-performing high schools receive gold, silver and bronze medal recognition from U.S. News, with gold medals indicating the greatest level of college readiness.
Massachusetts, California and Maryland rank one, two and three, respectively, with the highest percentage of eligible schools that received gold and silver medals. A Scottsdale, Arizona, charter school was the nation’s topranked school.
Of the 130 Oklahoma schools included in the rankings, three were awarded gold medals, 15 received silver medals and 112 were awarded bronze.
Overall, the rankings emphasize student outcomes, incorporating data on graduation rates and state assessments. Students at the 5,948 schools that receive national recognition from U.S. News graduate at rates that are 12 percentage points higher, on average, than students at other schools throughout the country.
For complete rankings, visit https://www. usnews.com/education/ best-high-schools.