GSA Daily Staff Report
Published June 15, 2010

Sixteen schools in South Carolina are on the 2010 Newsweek magazine list of America’s Best High Schools, an annual ranking of the top public high schools in the nation based on course offerings and student performance.

Twenty-two schools in the state made the list last year. The state’s top-rated high school for 2010 is Charleston County’s Academic Magnet High at No. 12 nationally. The North Charleston school was in the same spot in 2009.

Southside High School in Greenville County finished No. 2 in the state and No. 125 nationally. Greenville County has had the largest number of schools listed each of the past three years.

“Like many of the schools on our top 20, Academic Magnet High helps prepare students for the college/university experience by mandating that they fulfill a 90-hour service requirement in addition to completing at least four advanced placement courses throughout high school,” Newsweek said.

Top five colleges most often attended by the school’s graduates include the University of North Carolina, College of William and Mary, University of Virginia, North Carolina State and Georgia Tech.

Nine of the state’s ranked schools moved up this year, while six are in lower spots compared to 2009.

“When you add more schools to any ranked list, most of the schools already on the list see their ranks drop,” said Jay Matthews, a Washington Post staff writer and Newsweek contributing editor who began the America’s Best list more than 10 years ago. “The important thing is that your school is on the list, not where on the list it is.”

Newsweek’s formula ranks schools according to a ratio that looks at the number of advanced placement, international baccalaureate and similar college-credit tests taken by all students at the school and then divides that by the number of graduating seniors from the previous year.

Newsweek surveyed more than 27,000 high schools in the United States. Listed schools represent the nation’s top 6% of public high schools. This year’s rankings include the names of 1,622 public high schools, but not the names of any schools that have an average SAT score topping 1,975 or an average ACT score of 29 or higher.

South Carolina had 16 schools ranked in 2007, 21 on the list in 2008 and 22 ranked in 2009.