file photo by Boyd Loving
April 27,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, U.S. News and World Report released its annual ranking of America’s best high schools on Tuesday, and 25 New Jersey high schools made the top 500, including three schools in the top 100.
Schools with selective enrollment, including specialized high schools run by county vocational districts, typically rank ahead of many of the state’s traditional high schools. Ridgewood High School came in an impressive 26th in the state and 583rd in the country.
U.S. News and World Report used state supplied numbers ;Total Students 1,714 , College Readiness (district average)53.6%,Proficient in English (district average)71%,Proficient in Mathematics (district average)56%.
The U.S. News and World Report summarized , “Ridgewood High School is ranked 26th within New Jersey. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Ridgewood High School is 60 percent. The student body makeup is 49 percent male and 51 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 30 percent”
U.S. News’ ranking attempts to identify the best high schools in the country, using a school’s graduation rate, performance on state math and English tests and scores and level of participation on Advanced Placement exams are the primary factors in the U.S. News ranking. Schools with the highest ranking demonstrated strong performance among all students, including minority and low-income students.
The list is based it’s analysis on more than 28,000 public schools, according to U.S. News. The 25 New Jersey schools ranked in the top 500 each earned a gold medal from U.S. News, meaning their students have the highest level of college readiness.
