11 BCPS high schools among best in the U.S. according to Newsweek/Daily Beast survey: Number of schools increases from six on list last year

TOWSON, MD. – Eleven Baltimore County public high schools are among the nation’s 2,000 top schools, according to the third annual Newsweek/Daily Beast survey of “America’s Best High Schools.” The list, published online May 6 by Newsweek and its corporate owner, The Daily Beast, ranks schools based on six weighted criteria. “For the third time this spring, BCPS high schools have shown they are among the nation’s top tier,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. S. Dallas Dance. Earlier this year, BCPS high schools were included on similar lists published by The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Reports. “While the lists are a great affirmation of the work our students and teachers are doing in some of our schools, I believe these rankings are just a hint at the potential we have in all of our schools in Baltimore County,” Dr. Dance said. “Our schools are a reflection of our students and the instruction they receive, and we know that our students have unlimited potential for excellence and achievement. So we must continue to work in all of our schools to honor, unleash and nurture that potential. As we begin to do that, we’ll see the best in all of our schools.” Maryland had 75 high schools on this year’s Newsweek/Daily Beast survey, including the following schools from Baltimore County:

• Catonsville High School in Catonsville (ranked 41st in the state, 1,354 nationally)
• Dulaney High School in Timonium (21/852)
• Eastern Technical High School in Essex (11/438)
• Franklin High School in Reisterstown (28/1,053)
• George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson (12/610)
• Hereford High School in Parkton (8/306)
• Loch Raven High School in Towson (23/906)
• Perry Hall High School in Perry Hall (49/1,511)
• Pikesville High School in Pikesville (33/1,270)
• Towson High School in Towson (15/679)
• Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in Catonsville (34/1,274)

Last year, six BCPS high schools made the list. New to the survey this year among BCPS schools were Catonsville, Franklin, Loch Raven, Perry Hall, and Western Tech high schools. The schools were among 2,500 public high schools across the nation assessed by the magazine for the analysis. School administrators self-reported on a variety of data requested for the list, including graduation rates, graduates accepted to college, average SAT scores, the per-student number of Advanced Placement (AP) tests taken, average AP scores and other weighted data. The new “America’s Best High Schools" project may be found at http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/2013/americas-best-high-schools.html