Shaker Heights High School is in the top 2 percent of high schools nationwide in Newsweek magazine’s annual “Top Public High Schools” survey. The rankings are based on the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and/or Cambridge examinations taken in proportion to the student population. The 1,500 schools ranked represent 6 percent of all U.S. public high schools; Shaker ranked 449th.

The rankings also provide an “equity and excellence” measure, based on the percentage of graduating seniors who took and passed at least one college-level Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test in 2008. At Shaker, 40% of the Class of 2008 met this criterion by taking Advanced Placement exams. The District is in the process of implementing the International Baccalaureate program.

“This is not just a small number of elite students, but a very substantial proportion of our student body,” said Mark Freeman, Superintendent of Schools. “We are particularly proud of our students’ success in the rigorous Advanced Placement courses and of the progress we have made in increasing the number of minority students enrolled in Advanced Placement.”

Shaker students are not just participating in Advanced Placement in large numbers, they are succeeding. Last year, The College Board recognized 144 Shaker students – a record number –for their success on three or more AP exams.

Shaker Heights High School offers 23 different AP courses, the largest number in this area, including American government, chemistry, calculus AB and BC, statistics, environmental science, biology, music theory, English, French, German, Latin, Spanish, psychology, physics, economics, U.S. history, and modern European history.

Read the Newsweek article online.

Site Map  |   June 17, 2009