ISM Named Seventh Most Challenging Private School in the County

The International School of Minnesota is one of the most-challenging high schools in the country, according to rankings released last month.

The Washington Post’s High School Challenge ranked the International School of Minnesota (ISM) seventh in the country and first in the state.

“We excel in helping students thrive in a robust, academically-challenging environment,” a news release quoted ISM Director Christi Seiple-Cole. “Every year, 100 percent of our students go on to a 4-year university or college, and they come back to tell us how well-prepared they were.”

To grade the schools, the Washington Post divided the number of college preparation tests that students took by the number of graduating seniors. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests were all tallied. Schools with a score above 1.0 made the list.

ISM scored 6.297.

No other Minnesota private school made the list.

The list aims to identify schools that do a good job persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. Consequently, it excludes schools that have average SAT or ACT scores greater than the highest average for normal enrollment schools—which translates to 2000 for the SAT or 29.3 for the ACT.

Last year, 84 percent of ISM’s upper school students took three or more Advanced Placement classes, according to the school.

“Our students love to learn,” the release quoted Seiple-Cole “We challenge them to grow in intellect, in character and global understanding. And they rise to the occasion in every class year after year.”