15 Michigan Schools Make Newsweek’s Top Public High Schools 2016

Updated. Newsweek’s list of the best public high schools in the country announced Thursday morning includes some familiar names, but also some newcomers.

Unsurprisingly, the International Academy at Bloomfield Hills, which serves students from across Oakland County, is on the list, but the highly acclaimed school slipped to No. 16 nationally, down from No. 8 last year, in the ranking.

In all, 15 Michigan schools made the list, including southeast Michigan schools in Ann Arbor, Troy, Rochester Hills, Birmingham, Novi, Grosse Pointe, Northville, Farmington Hills, Berkley and Plymouth.

Here are the others in the Top 500:

• No. 26: Washtenaw Technical Middle College, Ann Arbor (No. 270 last year)
• No. 60: Troy High School, Troy (not ranked last year)
• No. 139: Stoney Creek High School, Rochester Hills, (No. 423 last year)
• No. 141: Ernest W. Seaholm High School, Birmingham (No. 484 last year)
• No. 152: Novi High School, Novi (No. 223 last year)
• No. 163: The Early College at Lansing Community College, Lansing (No. 375 last year)
• No. 251: Grosse Pointe High School, Grosse Pointe Farms (not ranked last year)
• No. 268: Rockford High School, Rockford (not ranked last year)
• No. 308: Northville High School, Northville (ranked No. 194 last year)
• No. 354: Frankenmuth High School, Frankenmuth (not ranked last year)
• No. 386: Oakland Early College, Farmington Hills (ranked No. 159 last year)
• No. 422: Berkley High School, Berkley (not ranked last year)
• No. 440: Plymouth High School, Canton (not ranked last year)
• No. 487: Grosse Pointe North High School, Grosse Pointe Woods (not ranked last year)
• No. 490: Great Lakes Bay Early College (ranked No. 277 last year)

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 as the 2016-2017 school year is about to begin.

So, how did Newsweek 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.

Of those 6,477 schools, 4,760 were considered for the overall rankings, while 4,452 made the cut for another list of schools “beating the odds.” (Many schools made both lists.)

For the “beating the odds” rankings, 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.

The “beating the odds” schools in Michigan include a 15-way tie for 30th:

• The Early College at Lansing Community College
• International Academy, Washtenaw High School
• Troy High School
• Stoney Creek High School
• Grand River Preparatory High School, Grand Rapids
• Ernst W. Seaholm High School
• Novi High School
• Lawton High School, Lawton
• Grosse Pointe South High School
• Lawrence Junior/Senior High School, Lawrence
• Kingsley High School, Kingsley
• Adlai Stevenson High School, Sterling Heights
• Chippewa Hills High School, Remus
• Frankenmuth High School

Also on the list are No. 470, Baldwin High School, Baldwin; No. 486, Bark River-Harris High School, Harris; and No 489, Mason County Eastern Junior-Senior High School, Custer.

— Marc Torrence, Patch staff