Published: December 24, 2008 08:54 am      

Branford High ranked among top in state

BHS judged to be among the 47 best public high schools in Florida

Branford High School has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best public high schools in the country, among more than 21,000 surveyed. BHS is one of 47 schools in Florida to be so honored.

"I am extremely proud of our faculty, staff, and students for working diligently to improve levels of academic proficiency," said BHS Principal Ted Roush. "To be one of 47 schools identified by US News and World Report for the state of Florida is certainly an accomplishment that our community can be proud of."

Academic and enrollment data from the 2006-2007 school year is analyzed by School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education data research business run by Standard & Poor's.

The methodology is based on the key principle that "a great high school must serve all its students well, not just those who are bound for college and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show that the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators."

Schools are assessed on student performance compared to the average for their state with the first step looking at reading and math scores of all students. The second step looks at the school's least-advantaged students performance and the third step measures the college readiness performance of 12th graders.

"We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of Branford High School," said Suwannee County School Board member Julie Ulmer. "It says a lot about the quality of teaching and programs that are offered in Branford."

Schools were judged on the following criteria:

First, were students performing at a statistically higher level than the average student in the state.

Second, were minority students performing at an above-average level.

Finally, schools were judged on the college-readiness of their students, based on an analysis of Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate test data.

The rankings were published in the Dec. 4 edition of the newsmagazine.