We encourage parents of even elementary school children to understand what happens at the high school level of the districts or schools they are considering. Knowing important facts like graduation rates, the number of National Merit Scholars, and the college decision lists for the graduating class can give real insights into whether or not a school's philosophy aligns with your own.
Begin Your Research
Schools often share important statistics such as the national and state rankings, student:teacher ratios, number of Advanced Placement or dual-credit courses, and graduation rates.
But statistics are just one part of the big picture. Check out a high school's website and social media pages. See what the school chooses to highlight including academics, athletics, extracurricular activities, and demographics.
Every year, national rankings for public high schools are published. Rankings are just one data point to consider when choosing the right high school for your family. Often these rankings are not reflective of the true quality of the schools and focus on just a small sample of data. This Parents article outlines how to look beyond the national rankings.
If you are interested in public high school rankings, U.S. News & World Report's Best High School Rankings and the Jay Matthews Challenge Index are two of the most popular to review.
Orange City Schools High School Band.
Solon City Schools Track Team.
Best High School Rankings from U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report identifies the country's top-performing public high schools every spring. Rankings are determined using six factors: (1) college readiness, (2) state assessment proficiency, (3) state assessment performance, (4) underserved student performance, (5) college curriculum breadth, and (6) graduation rates.
Schools are ranked within each state, as well as on a national stage, so families can see how their public high school compares to others within the community and across the country.
Approximately 18,000 public high schools are ranked. And ten Greater Cleveland/Akron area public high schools are among the top 5% of public high schools in the nation!
18 Greater Cleveland/Akron area public high schools are ranked in the top 50 in Ohio. 1,011 Ohio public high schools are ranked.
Greater Cleveland/Akron Public High Schools Ranked in Top 50 in Ohio
#23 Revere High School (Richfield)
#24 Bay High School (Bay Village)
#29 Highland High School (Medina)
#30 Kenston High School (Bainbridge)
#44 West Geauga High School (Chesterland)
#50 Jackson High School (Massillon)
STEM Rankings
250 of the best STEM schools nationwide were also ranked based upon their focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. Rocky River High School and Revere High School made the list!
Jay Matthews Challenge Index
The Jay Matthews Challenge Index, the oldest high school ranking system in the country, originated in both the The Washington Post and Newsweek. It has since migrated to the creator's own website.
It claims to be the only list that does not rely on test scores and the only list that compares both public and private schools, side-by-side.
It uses just one data point to identify the most challenging high schools in the US: the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams taken by all students at each school divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year. The philosophy is that the ratio shows which schools are working the hardest to get average students to take college-level courses and exams.
The top 300 high schools across the nation were listed in 2022. Greater Cleveland/Akron has three:
EA Can Help
Lakewood High Schools Graduation.
Again, EA urges you to use this information as one data point for consideration when analyzing schools. There are numerous great schools and districts not included on these lists. EA is happy to help you narrow down the list of schools that fit your family's needs and are geographically convenient.
Meeting with administrators and guidance counselors and talking to families with children in the schools you are considering is equally informative. EA is well-connected with administrators in many of the schools around Greater Cleveland/Akron, and we are happy to assist you with this process. Photo Credits Preview modal-
Photo Credits
Photo Courtesy of Shaker Heights High School.
Photo Courtesy of Orange High School.
Photo Courtesy of Solon City Schools.
Photo Courtesy of Lakewood High School.
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