More Than One-Third of Nations Top 100 High Schools Are Charter Schools According to U.S. News and World Report

Washington,D.C. More than one-third of the nations top 100 high schools (34 schools) are charter public schools, according to the U.S. News and World Report's annual list released today. To arrive at the list of best schools, the report analyzes the academic performance and graduation rate of nearly 20,000 high schools across the country. The annual ranking comes on the heels of similar rankings released this week by the Washington Post, in which charter schools were also overrepresented.

The charter school movement stands for high quality, and it is exciting and gratifying to see so many schools increasingly being recognized for their commitment to student achievement, and in the case of these latest rankings, for graduation rate, said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. We are especially proud that this report takes into account the achievement of schools minority students, which is a hallmark of successful charter schools.

U.S. News and World Report factors in several criteria, including students' performance on state tests, whether historically underserved students performed better than the state average, college readiness based on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate participation and performance, and for the first time, graduation rates. Of the top 100 high schools on this years U.S. News and World Reports list, the following are charter schools:

About Charter Public Schools
Charter public schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, manyresearch studieshavefound that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.

About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org