Washington, D.C. Nearly one in three of the top 100 schools (32 schools) on the Washington Posts annual list of America’s Most Challenging High Schools are charter public schools. The list, which identifies the schools across the country that are the most effective at getting their students to take college-level courses and tests, measures the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge tests given at a school, and also factors in their number of graduates. While charter high schools make up seven percent of all high schools nationwide, they are overrepresented on the Washington Posts list.
“We know that parents send their children to charter public schools because of the high-quality education, and this report validates our parents decisions by showing charter schools commitment to preparing students for life after high school,” said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools. “Charter schools, which educate a greater percentage of minority students, are given the flexibility to innovate in exchange for accountability around student results. We are proud to see this report recognize the hard work of charter schools and their leaders toward improving student achievement.”
This year, the report features 2,300 high schools across the country. Of the top 100 schools, the following are charter schools:
Ranking
School
Location
1
BASIS Oro Valley
Oro Valley, AZ
2
BASIS Flagstaff
Flagstaff, AZ
4
BASIS Tucson North
Tucson, AZ
9
Signature
Evansville, IN
11
IDEA College Prep Mission
Mission, TX
13
Kings Valley Charter
Philomath, OR
15
IDEA Frontier College Prep
Brownsville, TX
16
IDEA College Prep San Benito
San Benito, TX
17
IDEA Quest College Prep
Edinburg, TX
19
Young Womens Leadership Academy
San Antonio, TX
23
Uplift Education North Hills Preparatory
Irving, TX
27
Archimedean Upper Conservatory
Miami, FL
28
IDEA College Prep San Juan
San Juan, TX
29
Uplift Education Summit Preparatory
Arlington, TX
31
American Indian Public Charter
Oakland, CA
32
Westlake Academy
Westlake, TX
38
Preuss School UCSD
La Jolla, CA
40
Gwinnett School of Math, Science & Tech
Lawrenceville, GA
43
IDEA College Prep Alamo
Alamo, TX
48
Stockton Collegiate International
Stockton, CA
52
Northcoast Prep and Performing Arts Academy
Arcata, CA
60
Albuquerque Institute for Mathematics and Science at UNM
Albuquerque, NM
61
LISA Academy
Little Rock, AR
62
Oasis
Cape Coral, FL
75
Uplift Education Williams Preparatory
Dallas, TX
77
Gateway College Prep
Georgetown, TX
79
KIPP Generations Collegiate
Houston, TX
81
Challenge Early College
Houston, TX
93
St. Croix Prep
Stillwater, MN
94
Doral Academy of the Performing Arts
Doral, FL
95
Lotus School for Excellence
Aurora, CO
100
Pacific Collegiate School
Santa Cruz, CA
