Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

9 Clark County high schools make list of top performers

Nine Clark County School District high schools have made the Washington Post’s list of top-performing high schools in the nation.

The Post’s High School Challenge list was founded in 1998 to rank Washington, D.C.-area public high schools using the Challenge Index, the ratio of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests a school gives and the number of graduating seniors.

The Post’s Challenge list ranks normal-enrollment schools, which means it does not include any magnet or charter high schools with above-average SAT and ACT scores. To be included in the list, schools must have an average SAT score below 1,970 or an average ACT score below 29.

Ed W. Clark High School in Las Vegas ranked 247 in the country and No. 1 in Nevada. Clark has an average SAT score of 1,755, an average ACT score of 22.4 and a 67 percent graduation rate, according to the report.

The maximum score on the SAT is 2,400 and 36 on the ACT.

Advanced Technologies Academy ranked 766 nationally and came in No. 6 in the state. The Las Vegas-based school has an average SAT score of 1,590, according to the report.

Green Valley High School ranked 952 nationally and came in No. 11 in Nevada. The Henderson high school has an average ACT score of 24.7, according to the report.

Spring Valley High School was ranked 1,592 nationally and came in No. 13 in the state. The Las Vegas high school has an average SAT score of 1,325, according to the report.

Coronado High School was ranked 1,689 nationally and came in No. 15 in the state. The Henderson high school has an average SAT score of 1,535, an average ACT score of 23 and a 90 percent graduation rate, according to the report.

Canyon Springs High School was ranked 1,694 nationally and came in No. 16 in Nevada. The North Las Vegas high school has an average SAT score of 1,300, according to the report.

Northwest Career and Technical Academy was ranked 1,730 nationally and came in No. 18 in the state. The Las Vegas high school has an average SAT score of 1,560, according to the report.

Valley High School was ranked 1,772 nationally and came in No. 19 in Nevada. The Las Vegas high school has a 59 percent graduation rate and was the first school in the district to be named a High Achieving Exemplary turnaround school in 2009, according to the report.

Desert Oasis High School was ranked 1,886 nationally and came in No. 20 in the state. The Las Vegas high school has an average SAT score of 1,300, according to the report.

The Post’s Challenge list ranks normal-enrollment schools, which means it does not include any magnet or charter high schools. To be included in the list, schools must have an average SAT score below 1,970 or an average ACT score below 29.

“The Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests,” Post education reporter Jay Mathews said. “It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students.”

For a complete list of all the schools, click here.

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