Schools
New Berlin Eisenhower, West Make Washington Post's 'America's Most Challenging High Schools' List
The two schools have been on the list seven consecutive years. This year, Eisenhower is fourth among Wisconsin schools while West is sixth.
New Berlin Eisenhower and West have again been recognized by the Washington Post as two of the most challenging high schools in Wisconsin based on Advanced Placement (AP) test participation.
Eisenhower, fourth a year ago and seventh in 2015, is fourth once again. West’s ascension continues; after being ranked 10th in 2015 and eighth in 2016, the school jumped to sixth this spring in the Post’s 2017 “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” index compiled by reporter Jay Mathews. The list identifies schools that have done the best job in encouraging high school students to take college-level courses and tests. This is the seventh consecutive year both New Berlin schools have been ranked by the Post.
“We continue to provide our students many opportunities that will prepare them for college, careers and life,” Superintendent Joe Garza said, “including a rigorous and relevant high school curriculum. We are very proud that students at both Eisenhower and West have access to our expansive AP program, as well as many other college- and career-ready programs.”
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The School District of New Berlin offers nearly two-dozen AP courses and Youth Options and Dual Enrollment Academies that allow students to take courses at post-secondary institutions. The district also offers a certified nursing assistant program, engineering-based Project Lead the Way courses, transcripted credit courses and more.
America’s Most Challenging High Schools list is based on an index calculated by taking the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests given at a school and dividing it by the number of graduating seniors. A ratio of 1.000 means the school had as many tests as graduates. Eisenhower’s index is 3.483. Only Rufus King (4.041), Kettle Moraine High School of Health Sciences (4.000) and Milwaukee School of Languages (3.554) have higher. West’s index is 3.077.
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More info on the Most Challenging High School List can be found here.
