T.C. Williams Jumps 11 Spots in Washington Post Rankings

jumped 11 spots in the 2012 Challenge Index presented by The Washington Post, an annual list formulated to determine how effectively area schools prepare students for college.

T.C. Williams is No. 87 in this year's index of D.C. area schools, moving up from .

Of the approximately 22,000 high schools in the United States, T.C. Williams checks in at 784, up from 943 in 2011.

"The index clearly indicates that more students are taking more difficult courses at T.C. and reflects the trend noted for 2011, during which 35 percent of the students took Advanced Placement courses and tests (also the highest ever at T.C.)," Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Mort Sherman said in an email to members of the school community.

Since 1998, Jay Mathews of The Washington Post has organized the list, which includes 176 area high schools.

Mathews uses this formula to determine rankings: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2011 by the number of graduating seniors. The index is not a measure of the overall quality of the school, but the rating can reveal the level of preparing average students for college.