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Education
Wednesday, January 02, 2008

U.S. News & World Report gives city schools high marks in new list

Friday, November 30th 2007, 4:00 AM

Six city schools cracked the top 100 of U.S. News & World Report's first-ever list of the nation's best high schools, including lesser-known gems like Townsend Harris and Staten Island Tech.

No other area in the state had more than one school on the list - an impressive showing that dulls the sting of this year's Newsweek top 100 ranking, which shunned the city altogether.

"I couldn't be prouder," said Principal Tom Cunningham of Townsend Harris, the humanities-focused Flushing, Queens, school that attracted more applications than any other nonspecialized high school this year.

Long known for its college ranking system, U.S. News decided to branch out this year and review more than 18,500 high schools. The magazine's methodology factors in state test scores and the success of poor and minority students on these exams, as well as a school's performance on Advanced Placement tests.

The Newsweek rankings have proved controversial for focusing too much on how many students take Advanced Placement tests, without taking their scores into consideration.

U.S. News gave the top slot to Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va., followed by Pacific Collegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif., and the International Baccalaureate Program in Bartow, Fla.

Only California, which had 23 schools on the list, topped New York State, which had 18 schools represented.

City favorites like Stuyvesant High School, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math in Manhattan made the list.

But the rankings also added to the growing prestige of rising stars Staten Island Tech and Townsend Harris, which were ranked 22nd and 45th, respectively.

"We have everything," said Susan Getting, assistant principal of Townsend Harris. "We're a really fine humanities program, we have top sports teams every year. Everything."

The school posted the best on-time graduation rate in the city, boasted an Intel science competition semi-finalist last year, and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in scores on the AP World History exam.

Cunningham predicted students would be thrilled by the news of their most recent accomplishment. "Tomorrow," he said, "we'll hear cheers in the hallway."

cmelago@nydailynews.com

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