Not First? Belmont High 4th in Mass. in Magazine's Annual Ranking

In its annual report released today, Tuesday, May 8,  US News & World Report ranked Belmont High School the fourth best public school in Massachusetts and 111th nationally, earning the school's students, staff and faculity "gold medal" status from the magazine.

"Belmont High School is ranked 4th within Massachusetts. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® coursework and exams. The AP® participation rate at Belmont High School is 74 percent. The student body makeup is 50 percent male and 50 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 25 percent," said the report. 

According to the USN&WR website, Belmont High's 1,119 students have some of the highest proficiency rates in the state: 96 percent in English and 97 percent proficiency in math, 83 percent of those in the advanced catagory.

Data also showed that nearly three of four Belmont students took an average of four AP tests with a passing rate of 94 percent.

“It’s always flattering to be ranked highly. However, more important than the annual USN&WR rankings — which are based upon a limited and debatable set of data – are the actual accomplishments of students within the school system," said Dr. Thomas Kingston, Belmont's interim school superintendent.   

"Our students do very well by both state and local measures, and Belmont should be justly proud of its school system. The mission of the district, as is true of most public school districts, is to serve all students well, not just those who can pass an admissions exam for a highly-selective academy,” said Kingston. 

Belmont High's high state and US ranking by USN&WR is keeping with other national publications such as the Wall Street Journal for the past several years. 

Last year, Newsweek magazine online edition ranked Belmont 110th of the 20,000 US high schools and third in the state turning out college-ready and life-ready students.