A national publication recognized four McAllen ISD high schools among America’s best.
U.S. News & World Report has published the rankings of the “2024 Best Public High Schools.” This is the 10th straight year McAllen ISD has had its high schools recognized by either U.S. News & World Report or The Washington Post. The McAllen ISD schools are:
· Achieve Early College High School
· James “Nikki” Rowe High
· McAllen Memorial High School
· McAllen High School
Achieve Early College High, a two-time national Blue Ribbon Award winner, is ranked 26th of 2,021 high schools in Texas. That places them in the top 1.3 percent in the state. In the nation, they come in at No. 165 of more than 17,000 schools ranked.
“This recognition is a testament to our total team effort,” McAllen ISD Superintendent Dr. René Gutiérrez said. “It is a result of the dedication and hard work of our students, teachers and staff. I want to thank all our parents for their support and our Board of Trustees for its leadership.”
The top-ranked schools have a high rate of students who scored above expectations in math and reading state assessments, passed an array of college-level exams, and graduated in four years.
The U.S. News High School Rankings include data on more than 24,000 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to traditional high schools, the rankings encompass charter; magnet plus STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) focused schools.
There were 17,660 schools which landed in the final rankings. The study is based on six factors which includes performance on state assessments and how well the school prepares students for college.
The six factors are:
· College readiness (30 percent or ranking).
· State assessment proficiency, based on aggregated scores on state assessments that students may be required to pass for graduation (20 percent).
· State assessment performance, based on whether performance on state assessments exceeded expectations given the school's proportion of underserved students (20 percent).
· Underserved student performance (10 percent).
· College curriculum breadth, based on proportions of 12th-grade students who took and earned a qualifying score on AP and/or IB exams in multiple content areas (10 percent).
· Graduation rate (10 percent).
McAllen ISD is a district of choice, offering STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) in Pre-K-12, International Baccalaureate in grades 1-12, Advanced Placement courses, Career Technical Education (CTE) in 13 career clusters where students earn professional licenses or certifications plus four dual enrollment academies. McAllen ISD also offers students the chance to earn any of five endorsements (career paths) recognized in Texas.
McAllen High, McAllen Memorial and McAllen Rowe high schools are traditional schools offering multiple educational paths and electives including opportunities in fine arts, athletics, CTE and more.
Achieve Early College High has earned many accolades since it first opened in 2008. The school earned its second national Blue Ribbon Award in 2021 after earning its first Blue Ribbon in 2015. Through its relationship with South Texas College, Early College High School students can earn college credits and even an Associates Degree before they graduate high school.
On the web
“2024 Best High Schools rankings”
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/us-news-ranks-best-high-schools