U.S. News and World Report awards local high schools

Corbin, Whitley County and Williamsburg high schools are among the top 33 high schools in Kentucky, and have been listed among the top 2,000 high schools in America, according to a survey released recently by U.S. News and World Report of more than 21,000 high schools nationwide.

On Dec. 5, U.S. News Media Group released its second annual survey of America’s Best High Schools, available online at www.usnews.com/highschools and on newsstands December 8. Based on an in-depth methodology by School Evaluation Services (www.schoolmatters.com), the list recognizes more than 1,900 schools in 48 states, up from the 1,600 schools in 40 states recognized by U.S. News in 2007, according to a U.S. News press release.

The high schools listed fall into one of four categories of distinction: Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Honorable Mention.

Williamsburg, Whitley County and Corbin high schools all received a bronze medal. Of the three, only Williamsburg received a bronze medal during last year’s first survey.

Kentucky tied for 17th in the study with Pennsylvania. Out of 229 high schools in Kentucky, 145 were eligible for full analysis. 33 schools or 14.4 percent received bronze or better rankings. Only seven received silver or gold awards.

Last year, 17 Kentucky high schools received bronze awards while six received silver awards and none received gold awards.

Other schools across the region receiving bronze medals this year included: Barbourville City School, Evarts High School, Harlan High School, Hazard High School, Jackson City School, and Pineville High School.
This year’s ranking criteria include increased measures of college readiness, and the 2009 list demonstrated an 11-percent increase in the number of top-performing schools, which received gold and silver medals.

This increase shows that a greater number of schools are providing students with access to college-level coursework and, more importantly, that these same students are demonstrating mastery of the coursework, which will benefit their work towards higher education.

“In just its second year, America’s Best High Schools has proven to be a trusted source for educators, students, and especially parents making important decisions about their children’s educational future,” said Brian Kelly, editor U.S. News & World Report.

“Not only do our rankings highlight schools succeeding at the highest national level, but the Best High School package also allows communities and states to compare schools at a local level and measure why some are doing so well. This is the most comprehensive and inclusive information on hundreds of high schools nationwide.”

Kelly noted the significant increase in the number of states providing information for the rankings and U.S. News’ role in fostering transparency among America’s most important institutions, saying, “Just as U.S. News has increased transparency in the health sector through its rankings of hospitals and health plans, and in the higher education sector through its rankings of colleges and graduate schools, its participation in the evaluation of America’s high schools are helping to shine a light on how these schools prepare our children for college, and for life.”

Corbin
Corbin High School has 706 students enrolled with 36.3 percent considered disadvantaged. The school scored 93.9 percent on the state test performance index with a poverty-adjusted performance index of 2.10.

55.5 percent of disadvantaged students scored proficient on the state tests compared to 69.5 percent of non-disadvantaged students.

There are 4,284 households in the district, and the school averages about 18.9 students per teacher.
Corbin Independent Schools Superintendent Ed McNeel called the U.S. News and World Report Bronze Medal designation “a tremendous recognition.”

“I think it starts from the preschool with high expectations and quality staff working together to meet the educational needs of kids, and making sure that every kid has the skills to be successful,” McNeel said. “We have a great staff and we also have several programs and testing that helps us identify kids who have needs and we work hard to address those.”

McNeel said running a top quality school system in a traditionally impoverished area of the country presents its own challenges, but said Corbin has never used that as an excuse for poor performance in school.

“It is one thing to say you have kids with a problem, but it’s another to address that problem and have programs that allow them to reach their potential,” McNeel said. “That’s been the mission of this Board of Education for many years. We continue to always look for ways to make our schools better.”

Whitley County
Whitley County High School has 1,238 students enrolled with 64.9 percent considered disadvantaged. The school scored 78.8 on the state test performance index with a poverty-adjusted performance index of 1.67.

50.8 percent of disadvantaged students scored proficient on the state tests compared to 57 percent of non-disadvantaged students.

There are 8,710 households in the district, and the school averages 15.9 students per teacher.

“This is certainly a great honor for our school system,” said Whitley County Superintendent Lonnie Anderson. “It names our high school, but of course our high school is composed of students from the elementary and middle school. Our entire staff and student body is to be commended for this accomplishment.”

Williamsburg

Williamsburg Independent School serves grades pre-kindergarten through 12, and has a total enrollment of 745 students among whom 71.4 percent are considered disadvantaged. The school scored 83.2 on the state performance index with a poverty-adjusted performance index of 2.52.
47.7 percent of disadvantaged students scored proficient on the state tests compared to 59.9 percent of non-disadvantaged students.

There are 1,902 households in the district, and the school averages about 12.8 students per teacher.
Williamsburg Independent Schools Superintendent Dennis Byrd, himself a graduate of the school system he now heads, said a traditional belief among students that excellence is expected in the school schools has been the driving force behind Williamsburg High School winning the Bronze Medal designation two years in a row.

“We got some really hard working students in our region who realize the value of education,” he said. “I think one of the things that is in the back of our students mind is that they know they are going to get an outstanding education here. We try to instill in them that the sky is the limit if you will work hard and study. You will walk out of here at graduation prepared and ready to do whatever you need to do.”

Byrd also credited the school district’s close relationship with the University of the Cumberlands as another reason for success. Williamsburg students are given the opportunity to earn college credits through UofC.

“The fact that they are our neighbor has always been an advantage for us,” Byrd said.
Byrd said the district is looking at expanding vocational options for students in the near future

National numbers
Since the release of the 2008 high school rankings, U.S. News and School Evaluation Services have developed the methodology to include the International Baccalaureate program as a measure of college readiness. In addition, an honorable mention distinction has been added to recognize schools that were able to achieve high levels of college readiness but only partially met state test performance criteria.
A high school is recognized as a top school if it attains performance levels that exceed statistical expectations given the school’s student body, as measured by state accountability test scores for all the school’s students in the core subjects of reading and math; achieves proficiency rates on state tests for their least advantaged student groups that exceed state averages; and prepares its students for college, as measured by student participation in and performance on Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams.

The 100 top-performing high schools were given a distinction of “Gold” and are listed numerically. The remaining 504 schools meeting all three criteria have been designated “Silver” high schools.
Additionally, 1,321 high schools were identified as “Bronze” schools for their performance on state tests.

These Bronze high schools met the first two criteria of this methodology but did not meet the college-readiness criteria based on AP or IB exams.

While AP and IB are by far the most widely used college-level programs in the country, there are schools that focus on providing students with access to alternative college-level programs.

Finally, 17 schools received honorable mentions. As previously described, the “honorable mention” distinction recognizes schools that were able to achieve high levels of college readiness but only partially met state test performance criteria.

For a complete list of America’s Best High Schools, visit www.usnews.com/highschools. To learn more about a specific school or to compare schools side-by-side, visit www.schoolmatters.com.

The states of Nebraska and Oklahoma, as well as the District of Columbia, did not have sufficient data available for analysis. Schools in these states were considered for honorable mention but none of them met the criteria.