Newsweek’s Top Public High Schools 2016: International Academy Makes the Cut

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI — The International Academy was again named one of the best public high schools in the country in Newsweek’s list of the best public high schools in the country.

The highly acclaimed school slipped a few notches, though, down to No. 16 from No. 8 last year. It was among 15 schools on the list, 11 of them in southeast Michigan.

The International Academy also made the “beating the odds” rankings. For this list, a school’s college readiness scores were adjusted for how they compared against other schools with similar percentages of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.

• Read more about Michigan schools on the list here.

We know you see a lot of lists: 10-Most Redneck Towns; 20 Least-Affordable States; Fattest Counties in the United States; Best Cities for People with 2 Kids, 1 Dog but No Cats.

Newsweek’s rankings of the best public high schools in the country stand apart. The school rankings are borne of legitimate research. Newsweek uses legitimate and objective measurements to put together its annual ranking of the country’s best high schools.

• Read the full rankings here.

Newsweek released the 2016 list just as schools are about to resume for the 2016-2017 academic year. So, how did the magazine come up with the rankings?

Newsweek looked at six measurements and weighted them to achieve a “college readiness index.” The rankings show how well high schools prepare students for college.
Those measurements and their weight are:

• Holding power: 10 percent
• Ratio of counselor/full-time equivalent to student enrollment: 10 percent
• Weighted SAT/ACT: 17.5 percent
• Weighted AP/IB/dual enrollment composite: 17.5 percent
• Graduation rate: 20 percent
• College enrollment rate: 25 percent

In all, 6,477 of the nation’s 15,819 public high schools met the criteria to be considered in Newsweek’s rankings.

Newsweek used school performance data from the National Center for Education Statistics to narrow the list of schools.

— Written by Marc Torrence, Patch national staff