Newsweek lists 12 Baltimore County high schools among nation's best; Montgomery County has 7

Twelve of Baltimore County 24 public high schools have been named to Newsweek magazine’s annual list of “America’s Best High Schools, with nine repeat honorees being joined by two newcomers and another back after a year’s absence. The list 0f 1,622 schools, compiled in collaboration with The Washington Post, represents the top 6 percent of high schools in the nation, based on total student participation in highly rigorous coursework and exams. The 12 county schools are:

• Dulaney High School— ranked 253
• Towson High School — 334
• Carver Center for Arts and Technology — 470
• Eastern Tech — 564
• Pikesville High School — 590
• Hereford High School — 632
• Catonsville High School — 951
• Western School of Technology and Environmental Science —1,179
• Owings Mills High School — 1,240
• Loch Raven High School — 1,302
• Franklin High School — 1,457
• Perry Hall High School — 1,525

Perry Hall and Western Tech are new to the list. Loch Raven was named to the list in 2007 and 2008 but did not make it last year.

Catonsville, Carver, Dulaney, Eastern Tech, Franklin, Hereford, Pikesville and Towson were also named to the list in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Owings Mills was named to the list in 2008 and 2009. Maryland had 98 schools on the list, with seven from Montgomery County in the top 100.

While California (285 schools), New York (162 schools), Florida (135 schools) and Texas (127 schools) had more schools on the list than Maryland, no state had a greater percentage of its schools than Maryland (53 percent). Newsweek’s honor roll is based on an index which divides the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2009 by the number of the school’s graduating seniors. In 1992-1993, the AP participation rate for Baltimore County Public Schools was about 2 percent, according to the county. Last year, the system’s participation rate was 14.2 percent, more than double the national rate of 7 percent. For the complete list, go to http://www.newsweek.com/tag/americas-best-high-schools.html. SOURCE: Explore Baltimore