Making the Grade
18 Dallas high schools rank among the best in America
Dallas public schools frequently take a beating in the media and otherwise, but we're happy to report that 18 local campuses are ranked among the best in the nation. In its annual list of America's Best High Schools, Newsweek and the Daily Beast gave top marks to Dallas' School of Science and Engineering Magnet (No. 4) and the School for the Talented and Gifted (No. 5).
To make the list, Newsweek looked at high school graduation and college acceptance rates as well as participation in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.
Highland Park High School earned 86th place, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts came in at No. 221. The list, which ranks the top 2,000 public schools in the United States, is heavy on magnet and charter schools.
In fact, just a handful of traditional Dallas schools made the cut. Lake Highlands, Skyline, Hillcrest and W.T. White high schools joined Highland Park as the area's only conventional campuses lauded in 2013.