According to new national rankings, there are some pretty smart kids graduating from Dallas-area private high schools. Business Insider has a roundup of the 50 smartest private high schools in the country, and three in Dallas made the cut: St. Mark's School of Texas, Hockaday and Cistercian Preparatory School.
The rankings were determined by Niche, a database of information about schools, by weighing each school's composite SAT/ACT score, the average score of the colleges attended by graduates, the percentage of graduates who go on to attend a four-year college and student-teacher ratios.
St. Mark's ranks No. 8 in the country and No. 1 in Texas. About the school, BI has this to say:
In addition to high SAT scores, students at all-boys St. Mark's School of Texas earn an impressive average of 33 out of 36 on the ACT as well. The school's challenging curriculum prepares students for first-class colleges, with Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Texas at Austin among the most popular.
Further down is all-girls Hockaday at No. 21. Those Hockadasies have reason to be proud: Last year, 96 percent of them received a score of 3 or higher on their Advanced Placement exams — the school offers 18 AP courses — and the class of 2014 also turned out 21 National Merit finalists and 22 National Merit semifinalists.
At No. 50 is Cistercian Preparatory School in Irving, where "the curriculum weaves together both academic and religious teachings" and students are offered 25 different AP classes; last year, 93 percent earned a 3 or higher on those exams.
St. John's School and the Kinkaid School also made the top 50 list, at Nos. 13 and 48, respectively. The No. 1 spot went to the Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California.
St. Mark's School of Texas ranks No. 8 among the country's 50 smartest private high schools.
A rendering of Almanac restaurant at Haggard Farm. Rendering courtesy of Haggard Farm