Huntington High School Ranked in
Top 4% Nationally
A new set of rankings compiled by The Washington Post newspaper puts Huntington High School in the top four percent of all public high schools in the United States and among the best in the state.
Huntington is ranked 81st in the state out of more than 1,000 high schools and 927th in the country out of about 22,000 high schools. Huntington's Challenge Index was 1.992, placing the school in the top tier in the country. The school also has an "Equity and Excellence" rate of 42.90 percent, more than double the national average of 18.1.
"Members of the Huntington school community should continue to take great pride in the ongoing achievement of district students," Superintendent James W. Polansky said. "While it is important that we not overemphasize the significance of any one index, the high school's placement further evidences the fact that Huntington students continue to challenge themselves academically and maintain their focus on college readiness."
"We are proud of the fact that Huntington High School keeps appearing on this list," Principal Carmela Leonardi said. "It speaks to the talents of our staff and students and it provides the community with an opportunity to realize the strength of our students and the quality of our programs."
The Washington Post's Challenge Index dates to 1998 when reporter Jay Matthew's began ranking Washington, DC area high schools based on how well they prepared students for college. Last year he expanded the ranking index to every public school (with limited exceptions) in America.
"We take the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given at a school each year and divide by the number of seniors who graduated in May or June," Mr. Matthew's explained in an online overview of the ranking. "I call this formula the Challenge Index. With a few exceptions, public schools that achieved a ratio of at least 1.000, meaning they had as many tests in 2011 as they had graduates, were put on the national list."
Huntington High School routinely sends graduates to the top colleges and universities in the country, including Ivy League and similarly highly regarded institutions. The school's Challenge Index of 1.992 far exceeded that of the average high school.
"I think 1.000 is a modest standard," Mr. Matthew's wrote. "A school can reach that level if only half of its students take one AP, IB or AICE test in their junior year and one in their senior year. But this year only nine percent of the approximately 22,000 U.S. public high schools managed to reach that standard and be placed on our list."
The Washington Post said its Challenge Index "is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school's commitment to preparing average students for college."
Huntington's average SAT score in 2011 was 1,520 according to The Washington Post. The rankings and Challenge Index results are sure to ignite a feeling of pride in Huntington High School.
"On the list we also give readers a sense of how well each school's students are doing on the tests by posting the "Equity and Excellence" rate, which is the percentage of all graduating seniors, including those who never took an AP course, who had at least one score of 3 or above on at least one AP test sometime in high school," according to The Washington Post. "The non-profit College Board, which oversees the AP program, invented this metric. It found that the average Equity and Excellence rate in 2011 was 18.1 percent."
Huntington High School doesn't appear ready to rest on its laurels. "The faculty and administration will continue in their efforts to help all students build their confidence in an academically encouraging manner," Mr. Polansky said.