APS High Schools Ranked Among the Best in New Mexico

U.S. News & World Report gives medals to four from APS, plus an APS charter.

U.S. News & World Report has published its annual Best Schools list for 2013, and of 13 high schools in New Mexico to receive a medal, four are APS schools and a fifth is an APS charter.

Early College Academy ranked fourth on the list, tops among the APS schools. La Cueva placed fifth, with Eldorado sixth and Cibola came in at 12^th. All received silver medals in the magazine’s system, which is based on points for strengths in student-teacher ratio, participation in Advance Placement exams and state test scores in math and reading.

South Valley Academy, and APS-authorized charter school, received a gold medal in the report and ranked second in the state. Schools had to receive a gold or silver medal to receive a state ranking.

U.S. News collected data on more than 21,000 public high schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia. U.S. News joined forces with the American Institutes for Research, a D.C.-based organization, to evaluate schools on overall student performance on state-mandated assessments, as well as how effectively schools educated their black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students. Performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams was then used to determine the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.

Nationally, 500 high schools received gold medals, while 1,790 received silver.