SBISD Campuses Named as 2015 Best High Schools

Three Spring Branch ISD secondary campuses were named recently as Best High Schools in the state and nation by U.S. News & World Report in its 2015 ranking of public high schools in America.

Memorial and Stratford high schools and the district’s public charter high school, Westchester Academy for International Studies, were all rated among the top 100 high schools in Texas in the latest annual ranking.

In addition, the SBISD high schools ranked among the top 1,000 high schools out of 29,000 campuses reviewed. They earned Gold and Silver category medals from U.S. News & World Report analysts and editors.

SBISD’s highly ranked high schools include the following reviews:

• Memorial High School: Rated No. 41 in Texas, Memorial High rated as No. 262 overall nationally, which also earned it a Gold category award. The high school scored above the Texas average in student college readiness and in student proficiency in mathematics and English.
• Stratford High School: Rated No. 73 in Texas, Stratford High ranked No. 625 nationally, earning it a Silver category award. The high school was above the Texas average in student college readiness and proficiency in mathematics and English.
• Westchester Academy for International Studies: Rated No. 81 in Texas, this district public charter high school was ranked nationally at No. 719, which earned it a Silver category award. It also ranks above the Texas average in student college readiness and student proficiency in mathematics and English.

In the national rankings, only 500 high schools received Gold medals, 2,027 earned the Silver recognition, and 3,990 more were awarded Bronze medals.

Interestingly, the School for the Talented and Gifted, a Dallas-area magnet school, ranked as the No. 1 public high school in country for the fourth consecutive year in the U.S. News report. Of the top 40 high schools ranked in Texas, 37 operated as a magnet or charter school.

If all magnet and charter schools were filtered out, Memorial High School would rank as No. 5 among traditional high schools in Texas. Using the same screening, Stratford High would rank among the state’s top 25 traditional high schools.

To create the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, U.S. News worked with a North Carolina-based research firm, RTI International, to evaluate high schools in three stages, or reviewing levels.

First, U.S. News looked at overall student performance on state-required tests. All ranked schools had to perform better than average to move forward, but more high schools still qualified this year due to a change in methodology.

In addition, U.S. News factored in how effectively schools educate less-advantaged students, including those of African-American, Hispanic and lower-income family backgrounds.

High schools were also assessed on how well students were prepared for college or university based on participation in, or performance on, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate exams.

Spring Woods and Northbrook high schools weren’t ranked by U.S. News this year. To learn more about the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, please visit:

Spring Branch ISD High School rankings:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/texas/districts/spring-branch-independent-school-district-105239

2015 Best High School Rankings by State:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools?int=994d08

Press Release on U.S. News’ 2015 Best High Schools Rankings:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/us-news-ranks-best-high-schools