Schools

Report: Columbia High Ranked 36th in New Jersey, 757 in Country

U.S. News and World Reports Best High Schools is released: Columbia received a silver medal

Columbia High School is ranked number 36 in New Jersey in this year's U.S. News and World Report’s Best High Schools ranking released Tuesday.

In the fifth edition of the ranking, Columbia's national ranking on the list was 757th out of 21,000.  The school did receive a silver medal from the publication for how it compared to other schools based on U.S. News ranking criteria.

The AP participation rate at Columbia High School is 43 percent. The student body makeup is 51 percent male and 49 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 62 percent. CHS has a student body of 1,797.

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Nearby, Summit High School was ranked 18th in the state and Chatham High School was 13th.

In Essex County, Millburn .  Livingston High ranked 29th in New Jersey, 401st in the country.

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Additionally, West Orange, Montclair, West Essex, West Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Verona, Nutley and Glen Ridge high schools were unranked.

Topping the state were:

  1. Biotechnology High School in Freehold — Ranked 8th nationally
  2. High Technology High School in Lincroft — Ranked 12th nationally
  3. Bergen County Academies in Hackensack — Ranked 34th nationally
  4. Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School in Jersey City — Ranked 50th nationally
  5. Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro — Ranked 73rd nationally
  6. Mdlsx Co Academy in Edison — Ranked 146th nationally
  7. Academy for Allied Health Sciences in Scotch Plains — Ranked 159th nationally
  8. West Windsor-​Plainsboro High School South in Princeton — Ranked 162nd nationally
  9. Academy of Allied Health and Science in Neptune — Ranked 178th nationally
  10. Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth — Ranked 183rd nationally

The publication used the same methodogy as 2012 to compile its list of Best High School throughout the country.

According to the magazine, U.S. News partnered with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research (AIR), which implemented the rankings methodology.

To determine the Best High Schools national rankings, schools were first analyzed at the state level in terms of how well students in each school performed on state assessments, taking into account the test scores of disadvantaged students (low-income, Hispanic, and black), who tend to score lower on tests.

High schools that made it through this analysis were then eligible to be ranked nationally, in terms of college readiness. U.S. News determines the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work by analyzing student success in Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, both of which include college-level courses.


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