CULLMAN – U.S. News and World Report has released its annual ranking of public high schools, and in the state of Alabama, Cullman High School came in at 18th and was awarded a silver medal based on state assessment performance, graduation rates and college preparedness. Nationally, CHS ranked 1,839th.
The Best High Schools rankings, featuring top-performing schools at the national and state level, evaluate data on more than 21,500 public high schools to identify which schools are best at preparing students for college and careers. U.S. News recognizes high schools with gold, silver and bronze medals, with gold medals indicating the greatest level of college readiness.
Available exclusively on usnews.com, the Best High Schools rankings feature data on a number of factors, including enrollment; graduation rates; diversity; participation in free and reduced-price lunch programs; and the results of state assessments, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests.
In the Student/Teacher category, CHS has a total enrollment of 867, with 55 full-time teachers. In the Test Scores category, the school’s college readiness index was reported as 29.8, based on student performance. Perhaps most impressive is the graduation rate of 95 percent. Also, 47 percent of the student body participates in Advanced Placement courses.
“This is the first time CHS has made the U.S. News list of Best High Schools in America. To be ranked in the top five percent in Alabama and top ten percent in the U. S. is a tribute to our teachers and students,” said Principal Dr. Elton Bouldin. “They ensure that's Cullman High School provides an amazing learning experience every day.”
U.S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the comprehensive rankings methodology.
“RTI implemented the U.S. News comprehensive rankings methodology, which is based on these key principles: that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show it is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.”
Top 25 High Schools in Alabama, as ranked by U.S. News:
- Loveless Academic Magnet Program (Montgomery)
- Booker T. Washington (Montgomery)
- Mountain Brook High School (Mountain Brook)
- Huntsville High School (Huntsville)
- Homewood High School (Homewood)
- Bob Jones High School (Madison)
- Virgil Grissom High School (Huntsville)
- Spain Park High School (Hoover)
- Ramsay High School (Birmingham)
- New Century Tech Demo High School (Huntsville)
- Oak Mountain High School (Birmingham)
- Auburn High School (Auburn)
- Hewitt-Trussville High School (Trussville)
- Vestavia Hills High School (Vestavia Hills)
- Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School (Montgomery)
- Hartselle High School (Hartselle)
- James Clemens High School (Madison)
- Cullman High School (Cullman)
- Sparkman High School (Harvest)
- Hoover High School (Hoover)
- Athens High School (Athens)
- Jacksonville High School (Jacksonville)
- Muscle Shoals High School (Muscle Shoals)
- Chelsea High School (Chelsea)
- Wetumpka High School (Wetumpka)
For a comprehensive explanation on RTI’s methodology, see http://qrne.ws/rti.
To see the press release from U.S. News, see http://qrne.ws/rankings
