U.S. News factors in college readiness, math and reading proficiency, math and reading performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates. With a graduation rate of 84 percent and an overall score of 40.95, Willowridge High School is rated as 937 within 1,485 schools ranked in Texas and 171 among Houston-area high schools. Explore the private high schools that best prepare their students for college success. The school’s college readiness index score is 42.6 (of 100). Let’s take each in turn. In terms of demographics, the student population is majority Asian (54 percent) followed by 24 percent white, 12 percent Hispanic, six percent Black and three percent two or more races with nine percent classified as economically disadvantaged. Jeremy Noonan is a father of four school-age children and a certified science (including in AP Chemistry) instructor in Georgia, who has taught for ten years in public school, private school, and home school cooperatives. Table 2 demonstrates what it takes for a school to reach the median CRI, which was 20.91 for this year’s rankings. School enrollment is 2,551 and the student-to-teacher ratio is noted as 19-to-one. The highest CRI among high schools in Douglas County, for example, was 19.1—just short of the median. The student population is 42 percent Asian, 21 percent white, 18 percent Black, 17 percent Hispanic and three percent two or more races with 26 percent classified as economically disadvantaged. For example, in my own district in Douglas County, Georgia—whose stunningly low AP exam scores accompany bizarrely high course grades—the number of exams increased by over 200 percent in a five-year period! An excellence metric that complements the E&E would provide important information that parents, administrators, policymakers, and the public need to understand the extent to which graduates are truly college ready. On state accountability tests, 69 percent achieved proficiency in mathematics scores and 47 percent were reading proficient. U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best High Schools Rankings are a source of great pride to some schools, and great consternation to others. Nevertheless, it’s also possible for schools with very low exam scores to still get the prestige of a Silver ranking by boosting participation and/or the number of exams taken per student. Enrollment is 2,485 with a 18-to-one student to teachers ratio. Challenge Early College High School - Houston ISD, 6. Yet the way in which these honors are determined is puzzlingly problematic. The student population is 35 percent Asian, 33 percent Hispanic, 17 percent Black, 13 percent white and two percent two or more races with 40 percent classified as economically disadvantaged. Lest the reader think that these percentage increases in test takers are unrealistic, consider that the total number of students taking AP exams has increased by 95 percent over the last ten years, coinciding with a 103 percent increase in exams taken. The school’s graduation rate is 98 percent and its college readiness index score is 30.2 (of 100). With an overall score of 90.42, Ridge Point High School is the district’s largest high school and is rated as 169 within 1,485 schools ranked in Texas and 52nd among Houston area high schools. Enrollment is 2,712 with a 20-to-one student to teacher ratio. Would this mean that its graduates are better prepared for college? One way the latter can be accomplished is simply by convincing students to take more exams, as the odds of passing just one increase with more attempts. While the E&E rate does represent equity by encouraging schools to expand AP access, and while it could represent excellence, it is problematic as a college readiness indicator for a number of reasons having to do with the measure’s numerator—the number of graduates who pass at least one AP exam—as well as its denominator—the total number of graduates.