How do Columbus area high schools rank nationally? U.S. News releases 2024 list
Columbus High School is the second-best public high school in the state for the fourth straight year, according to a national ranking released Tuesday.
The U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best High Schools report ranks Columbus High, a liberal arts magnet school, behind only Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Georgia.
Compared to last year, the national rankings among 14 Columbus area schools increased for four of them, decreased for five of them and are undisclosed for the rest because they aren’t released if they are in the bottom 25% or don’t have enough students, according to the metrics.
Among local schools, Smiths Station had the largest increase in the national rankings, up by at least 3,723 spots to 9,538 from its unranked status last year, while Russell County had the largest decrease, down by 3,918 spots to 11,999.
Georgia public high school rankings
Here are the rankings for local public high schools, listed by their state ranking, with their national ranking in parentheses, and how they compare to last year’s list:
2. Columbus (101), stayed the same in the state, down by 26 in nation.
15. Rainey-McCullers (444), unranked last year because enrollment was too low, according to the metrics.
94. Northside (3,744), down by 7 in state, up by 93 in nation
122. Harris County (4,970), up by 46 in state, up by 2,670 in nation.
170. Shaw (6,851), up by 22 in state, up by 1,542 in nation.
258. Hardaway (10,457), down by 61 in state, down by 1,809 in nation.
286. Carver (11,679), up by 1 in state, up by 397 in state.
302. Chattahoochee County (12,502), down by 60 in state, down by 2,167 in nation.
331. Spencer (13,177), no exact figure last year because rankings for bottom 25% aren’t disclosed.
332-442. Jordan, Kendrick (13,242-17,655), no exact figure this year and last year because rankings for bottom 25% aren’t disclosed.
Alabama public high school rankings
141. Smiths Station (9,538), no exact figure last year because rankings for bottom 25% aren’t disclosed.
155. Central-Phenix City (10,497), down by 35 in state, down by 2,745 in nation.
179. Russell County (11,999), down by 51 in state, down by 3,918 in nation.
Methodology for Best High Schools ranking
In partnership with North Carolina-based RTI International, a nonprofit social science research firm, the magazine evaluated 17,655 public high schools, based on the following metrics from the 2021-22 school year:
College readiness (30% of the ranking), measured by the percentage of 12th-graders who took at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam by the end of their senior year and the percentage of 12th-graders who earned a qualifying score on those tests.
College curriculum (10%), measured by the percentage of 12th-graders who took a variety of AP and IB courses across multiple disciplines and the percentage of 12th-graders who earned a qualifying score on them.
State assessment proficiency (20%), measured by how well students scored on state standardized tests in reading, science and math.
State assessment performance (20%), measured by how well students performed on those state tests compared to what the U.S. News modeling formula predicted by the school’s demographics.
Underserved student performance (10%), measured by how well the students receiving subsidized school lunch, as well as Black and Hispanic students, performed on state assessments relative to those not in these subgroups.
Graduation rate (10%), measured by the proportion of students entering ninth grade who graduated within four years.
