Texas Border Business
For the second straight year, McAllen ISD has all five of its high schools recognized among America’s best.
Two national publications recognized McAllen ISD schools this week. These include Achieve Early College High School (named to both lists), McAllen Memorial High, James “Nikki” Rowe High, McAllen High and Lamar Academy.
“America’s Most Challenging High Schools” listed Achieve (No. 89 in Texas), Memorial (No. 109), Rowe (No. 110) and McAllen High (No. 121). Among all 50 states, Achieve is in the top 650 while Memorial, Rowe and McAllen High are in the top 1,100 out of thousands of high schools in the country. All four are in the top nine percent of high schools in the nation.
In the “Best High Schools Rankings 2016,” Achieve earned a Silver Medal and national ranking while Lamar Academy earned a Bronze Medal and national recognition.
“America’s Most Challenging High Schools” is published by The Washington Post. U.S. News & World Report publishes “Best High Schools Rankings 2016.”
“This confirms what we have known for a long time, namely that we have excellent students, teachers and staff at these schools,” McAllen ISD Interim Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez, Ed.D., said. “Our goal is to graduate students who are college and career ready and this shows that when our kids go through our system, they will be ready for the next level in their educational path.”
“America’s Most Challenging High Schools”
Name of school State rank National rank Index
Achieve Early College High School No. 89 646 3.108
McAllen Memorial High School No. 109 997 2.485
Rowe High School No. 110 1,006 2.468
McAllen High School No. 121 1,089 2.335
Only high schools which met the National Challenge Index of 1.0 or higher were listed. This year, nine percent of the approximately 22,000 U.S. public high schools reached that standard, according to The Washington Post website.
“America’s Most Challenging High Schools” ranks schools through a ratio of the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given at a school each year, divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year, according to The Washington Post website. A ratio of 1.0 means the school had as many tests as graduates.
“Best High Schools Rankings 2016”
Achieve Early College High Silver Medal and National Ranking
Lamar Academy Bronze Medal and National Recognition
The U.S. News rankings include data on more than 21,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. News & World Report website. Schools were awarded gold, silver or bronze medals based on their performance on state assessments, their graduation rates and how well they prepare students for college.
McAllen ISD offers Advanced Placement courses where students may take exams to earn dual credit for college and high school. The International Baccalaureate, a globally–recognized advanced academic program, provides opportunity for students to graduate with an IB diploma – worth at least 24 college credit hours at any state university in Texas. McAllen ISD’s IB Diploma Programme is based at Lamar Academy and serves students from McAllen High, McAllen Memorial and Rowe High.
The McAllen ISD Class of 2015 collectively earned at least 15,643 college credit hours, saving families time and money. In 2015, 1,854 high school students took 3,189 AP exams. In addition, 118 students in the IB Programme took 406 IB exams.
Since the first class of IB Diploma graduates in 2003, nearly 500 McAllen ISD students have earned an IB Diploma (including 53 in 2015). The student IB Diploma earning rate is 98 percent – one of the highest on the globe. The world average in 2015 was 80.8 percent.
The Achieve Early College High School opened in 2008. Students are able to attend college while attending high school for dual credit (counts for both high school and college requirements) with the added bonus of taking courses within STC’s modern facilities.
Achieve Early College High School is a Texas Education Agency Rewards School – the highest category on state testing. It is the top ECHS in partnership with STC having awarded the most Associate Degrees. The school is a national 2015 Blue Ribbon School. This U.S. Department of Education program recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students perform at very high levels. Achieve was one of just six high schools in the state to earn a Blue Ribbon in 2015.
In 2015, 82 Achieve graduates earned their Associate’s Degree before even graduating from high school. This was at no cost to their families. Through a partnership with South Texas College, it is based at STC’s campus on Pecan Blvd. In fact, it is the only ECHS in the Valley to be housed on a college campus.
Texas has 1,915 high schools in 1,084 school districts, according to the U.S. News website.
“America’s Most Challenging High Schools”
https://apps.washingtonpost.com/local/highschoolchallenge/
“Best High Schools Rankings 2016”
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools
