Magazine names Redan one of the nation’s best high schools
- 12/24/09
- Categorized in: DeKalb News, Education
Redan High School is among America’s best high schools, according to a U.S. News & World Report study.
The school recently landed the magazine’s bronze award for providing great service to students. The award considers a school’s percentage of economically disadvantaged students, its minority enrollment, standardized exam performance and a college readiness index as established by the magazine.
U.S. News & World Report collaborated with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 data research company for the study. Of the 21,786 public high schools the magazine studied with School Evaluation Services, 1,750 were recognized for considerably outperforming their state’s standards. In that group, there were 561 schools that also were found to be doing an excellent job of preparing students for college-level coursework. These top schools were placed into gold, silver, bronze, or honorable mention categories. Redan High was one of 29 Georgia high schools awarded the bronze medal or better.
School officials could not be reached for comment.
Redan High’s graduation rate speaks of its success as the rate has progressed from about 71 percent in 2005 to 89 percent in 2009. Redan has also made Adequate Yearly Progress, a state and federal designation, each year from 2004 to 2008.
U.S. News & World Report uses a three-step process that analyzes how schools are educating all of their students, then their minority and disadvantaged students, and finally their college-bound students based on student scores on statewide tests, Advanced Placement tests and International Baccalaureate tests using data from the 2007-2008 academic year.
They also look for each high school to produce measurable academic outcomes to show that it is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.
In addition to this honor, Gov. Sonny Perdue and State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox honored Redan High this fall with the governor’s regional champion trophy for largest numerical improvement in SAT scores among schools in their GHSA region.
