Photo by Jon Anderson
Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama
U.S. News & World Report this year has ranked Spain Park High School in the top 15 public high schools in Alabama.
Spain Park came in at No. 14 on the list, down two spots from 2017. Meanwhile Hoover High School was ranked 26th among public high schools in Alabama, down nine spots from No. 17 last year.
Here is the full Top 15 for 2018:
- Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, Montgomery County
- Mountain Brook High School
- Homewood High School
- Bob Jones High School, Madison
- Oak Mountain High School, Shelby County
- Vestavia Hills High School
- Hewitt-Trussville High School, Trussville
- James Clemens High School, Madison
- Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School, Montgomery County
- Auburn High School
- Fairhope High School, Baldwin County
- Ramsay High School, Birmingham
- New Century Technology High School, Huntsville
- Spain Park High School
- Hartselle High School
How schools were ranked
U.S. News & World Report based its rankings on how well the schools serve all students, not just those who are college bound, and whether the schools are showing measurable academic outcomes to show they are successfully educating their student body across a range of performance indicators.
The magazine evaluated 28,813 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and then narrowed its list to 20,548 schools, eliminating some who were too small to be analyzed based on enrollment in the 2015-16 school year.
A four-step process determined the “best high schools.” The first three steps were designed to ensure that the schools serve all of their students well, using their performance on the math and reading parts of their state proficiency tests and their graduation rates as benchmarks. A fourth step assessed the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.
The magazine awarded the top 5,948 schools with gold, silver and bronze medals. Both Spain Park and Hoover high schools were among 38 schools in Alabama to receive a silver medal. Only one school in Alabama — the Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School in Montgomery County — received a gold medal.
Spain Park was ranked 1,472 in the nation, and Hoover High ranked 2,087 in the nation.
Here is more information the magazine provided for each of the schools.
Spain Park High
- 44% proficient in math
- 53% proficient in reading
- 95% graduation rate
- 47% took Advanced Placement tests
- 73% of those passed AP tests
Hoover High
- 39% proficient in math
- 48% proficient in reading
- 93% graduation rate
- 40% took Advanced Placement tests
- 62% of those passed AP tests
To see more information about the top schools in Alabama, visit U.S. News & World Report’s website.
