Which high schools are best and worst in Columbus area? U.S. News releases rankings
Columbus High School is the second-best public high school in Georgia, according to a national ranking released Tuesday.
The U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best High Schools list ranks Columbus High, a liberal arts magnet school, behind only Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Georgia.
Columbus High was second in 2019 and reclaimed the spot from Davidson Magnet School of Richmond County, which was second in 2020.
For the 2021 rankings, the magazine used data from the 2018-19 school year to assess nearly 24,000 public high schools. Only 17,857 of them were ranked because some didn’t have enough 12th-graders (at least 15), and the rankings of only the top 75% (13,393) are released.
Madeline Smanik, communications and public relations manager for the magazine, told the Ledger-Enquirer why the rankings for the bottom 25% aren’t disclosed.
“Our methodology was designed to distinguish the best high schools, which is why we only publish the individual ranks for the top 75%,” she said in an email.
Among the 15 ranked schools in the Bi-City area, compared to last year:
- Six improved (Columbus, Northside, Carver, Chattahoochee County, Central and Russell County).
- Six dropped (Early College, Harris County, Marion County, Shaw, Hardaway and Smiths Station).
- Three remained undisclosed because they still are in the bottom 25% (Jordan, Kendrick and Spencer).
Central had the largest local increase, up by 78 spots to 66 in Alabama. Smiths Station has the largest local decrease, down by 52 spots to 188 in Alabama.
Here are the local rankings, listed by their state ranking, with their national ranking in parentheses, and how they compare to last year’s list:
Georgia
- 2. Columbus (94), up by one in Georgia and seven in U.S.
- 97. Northside (4,173), up by nine in Georgia and 32 in U.S.
- 148. Early College Academy (6,590), down by 17 in Georgia and 488 in U.S. Merged with Jordan after the 2018-19 school year.
- 151. Harris County (6,694), down by seven in Georgia and 137 in U.S.
- 193. Shaw (8,586), down by 16 in Georgia and 733 in U.S.
- 211. Hardaway (9,277), down by 16 in Georgia and 651 in U.S.
- 252. Marion County (11,003), down by 24 in Georgia and 1,099 in U.S.
- 267. Carver (11,433), up by 28 in Georgia and 1,117 in U.S.
- 304. Chattahoochee County (12,712), up by 11 in Georgia and 371 in U.S.
- 328-426. Jordan, Kendrick and Spencer (13,394-17,857), again undisclosed.
- Note: Rainey-McCullers wasn’t ranked because it didn’t have enough students to qualify.
Alabama
- 66. Central (5,131), up by 78 in Alabama and 3,830 in U.S.
- 188. Smiths Station (10,833), down by 52 in Alabama and 1,872 in U.S.
- 195. Russell County (11,146), up by 44 in Alabama and 1,858 in U.S.
- Note: Rankings for 244 of the 361 assessed schools in Alabama were disclosed.
Methodology
The rankings, according to U.S. News, are based on measurements of:
- College readiness (30%), defined by participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.
- Math and reading proficiency (20%), defined by results from the state’s standardized tests.
- Math and reading performance (20%), defined by results from the state’s standardized test compared to predicted results from the school’s demographics.
- Underserved student performance (10%), defined by how well Blacks, Hispanics and students from low-income families performed on state tests compared to those who aren’t considered underserved.
- Curriculum breadth (10%).
- Graduation rate (10%).
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
