Nine Howard County high schools were named to Newsweek magazine's annual list of top American high schools.

The 2009 ranking, published on the magazine's Web site June 8, includes the 1,500 schools that comprise the top 6 percent of schools in the nation based on the magazine's rating system. The survey ranks schools by dividing the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at the school in 2008 by the number of graduating seniors.

Centennial High School, in Ellicott City, was the highest-ranking Howard County school at the No. 243 spot, followed by River Hill High School, in Clarksville, at No. 288.

Other county schools on the list include Glenelg High School at No. 720, Mt. Hebron High School at No. 801, Howard High School at No. 959, Atholton High School at No. 1,083, Reservoir High School at No. 1,177, Wilde Lake High School at No. 1,240 and Long Reach High School at No. 1,478.

The No. 1 school, according to Newsweek's 2009 ranking, is The School for the Talented and Gifted, a public magnet school in Dallas. The top-rated Maryland school is Richard Montgomery High School, in Rockville, at No. 38.

State education officials this week touted the performance of Maryland's public high schools in the Newsweek survey. The magazine's rating system showed Maryland had the highest percentage of schools offering and students taking college-level courses.

With 83 schools on the magazine's list, Maryland had the highest percentage of its high schools -- 29.5 percent -- recognized in the survey, according to the magazine's Web site.

-- Jennifer Broadwater

user comments (0)