Schools
Parkland H.S. Ranked in Pa.'s Top 50 by U.S. News
Parkland High School ranked 55th out of 687 Pennsylvania high schools, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Parkland High School ranks among the best in the state, according to annual rankings published Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.
Parkland High School ranked 55th out of 687 high schools in Pennsylvania. That ranking is actually down from a 49th ranking in 2012.
Still, the news was welcomed by Parkland Superintendent of Schools Richard Sniscak.
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"It's nice to be recognized by an independent party," Sniscak said. "It's an accomplishment and something we can be proud of. It's obviously a credit to the students, staff and the parents in the district. Our board and administration contribute as well."
The 2013 U.S. News and World Report Best High Schools rankings are based on data collected from more than 21,000 public U.S. high schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia. The rankings are designed to capture how well high schools educate all of their students and prepare them for college-level work, a press release from U.S. News said.
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Schools are evaluated based on overall student performance on state assessments, Advanced Placement tests and International Baccalaureate exams. The ranking also takes into account how well students educate black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students, according to U.S. News.
Once all factors were considered, U.S. News designated the 4,805 highest-scoring schools as gold, silver or bronze; the top 500 schools received gold medals and the next 1,790 received silver.
Based on Parkland's national ranking of 1,834, the school district received a silver medal.
"As Abe Lincoln said, the biggest room in anyone's house is the room for improvement," Sniscak said. "There's continuous room for improvement and we're always trying to get better."
Parkland High School
State Rank: 55
National Rank: 1,834
Medal awarded: Silver
Proficient in Reading: 84 percent
Proficient in Math: 79 percent
College Readiness Index (based on AP/IB participation, max value is 100): 20.1 percent.
Student/Teacher Ratio: 18:1
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