Carrollton High School has been named one of the best high schools in Georgia and the nation, based on rankings released this week by U.S. News & World Report.
The study ranks CHS at number 92 in the state, and 67th in the metro Atlanta area. With an overall score of 76 percent, CHS is in the top 23 percent nationally, qualifying as one of the highest-ranked schools in the nation, according to a U.S. News release.
“This is validation for what we already knew internally as a school,” said CHS Principal David Brooks. “Our efforts are laser-focused on pushing all of our students – and teachers – to be the best they can be. The result is strong test scores, a high graduation rate, and solid preparation for our students’ post-secondary choices. I am proud to be their principal.”
The highest-ranked schools are those whose students excelled on state tests and performed beyond expectations; participated in and passed a variety of college-level exams; and graduated in high proportions. U.S. News assigned numerical ranks to schools performing in the top 75%. Schools performing below the 25th percentile are listed alphabetically with a ranking range.
U.S. News reports the ranking’s methodology draws from data for the 2017-2018 school year, using both state and federal datasets. In addition, the College Board and International Baccalaureate provided data on their respective college-prep programs, Advanced Placement and IB. These are the six indicators of school quality used to calculate the rankings:
- College readiness, based on the proportions of 12th grade students who took and passed AP and/or IB exams.
- College curriculum breadth, based on proportions of 12th grade students who took and passed AP and/or IB exams in multiple content areas.
- Math and reading proficiency, based on student performance on state-required tests.
- Math and reading performance, based on whether performance on state assessments exceeded expectations given the school’s proportion of underserved students.
- Underserved student performance, based on how black, Hispanic and low-income students performed on state assessments compared with those who are not underserved in the state.
- Graduation rates, based on the proportion of students who entered ninth grade in 2013-2014 and graduated four years later.
Dr. Mark Albertus, superintendent, said the district’s deliberate school improvement efforts K-12 deserve a share of the credit.
“Carrollton High School’s success depends greatly on the efforts of our lower schools,” he said. “High schools tend to receive the most attention because their success is the culminating result of a quality educational program throughout. Carrollton High School’s accolades are something to be celebrated by all of us.”
