University High named among best schools in U.S.
U.S. News & World Report named Fresno’s University High in the top 100 high schools in the country on Tuesday.
The report also ranked Clovis North, Edison, Buchanan, Clovis West and Clovis East as the best high schools in the area, in that order.
The national report measures college readiness based on factors including student passing rates on Advanced Placement courses, graduation rates and student-teacher ratios.
University High, a liberal arts charter school on Fresno State’s campus, had about 85 percent of seniors pass Advanced Placement tests last year, ranking it the seventh-best high school in California. Nationally, the school ranks 81st out of more than 20,000.
Head of School James Bushman said those numbers should be even higher. The report did not take into account that University students already are taking college-level courses provided by Fresno State, in addition to taking AP tests.
“I’ve talked to high schools across the country, and nobody is demanding more from their students than us,” Bushman said. “This school is for students who are interested in being challenged and pushed.”
Aside from University High, Clovis North topped the public high schools in the area. Clovis North was ranked as the 133th best school in the state, with 46 percent of students passing AP courses.
The report named the School for the Talented and Gifted in Texas as the best in the country. The best in California is Whitney High in Cerritos. One note: Not all schools were ranked.
Other top local rankings/AP passing rates include:
- Edison: 43 percent
- Buchanan: 35 percent
- Clovis West: 34 percent
- Clovis East: 27 percent
- Sunnyside: 25 percent
- Hoover: 25 percent
- Roosevelt: 24 percent
- Kingsburg: 23 percent
- Bullard: 22 percent
- Fresno: 21 percent
- McLane: 18 percent
- Clovis: 17 percent
- Central High East: 17 percent
- Duncan Polytechnical: 16 percent
Mackenzie Mays: 559-441-6412, @MackenzieMays
This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "University High named among best schools in U.S.."