More area schools make 'America's Best High Schools' list

REGION

The list keeps growing. When Newsweek originally posted its 2007 "America's Best High Schools" list in May, six schools from Boston's western suburbs made the cut. Since then, the magazine has continued to update the list online as more schools send in their data, and two more area schools have been added: Hopkinton High School, ranked 651st, and Framingham High School, ranked 944th.

The overall list nationwide has grown to 1,327 schools, causing the standings of other area schools to shift. Currently, Dover-Sherborn is ranked 134th, Weston High School 196th, Wellesley High School 504th, Wayland High School 718th, Newton South High School 749th, and Needham High School 1,085th. The state’s highest-ranking school is Sturgis Charter Public School of Hyannis, which ranked 54th.

Schools were evaluated based on only one factor: the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at the school in 2006 divided by the number of graduating seniors. Some critics consider the criteria too narrow, but Newsweek reports that research studies have shown that passing scores on AP exams are a predictor of college success.

Scores from 27,000 public schools were reviewed, which places schools on the list in the top 5 percent of public schools nationally.

--Denise Taylor