Lynchburg City Schools is pleased to announce that both E. C. Glass and Heritage high schools were included in the latest ranking of the Washington Post’s most challenging high schools.
Using a formula called the “Challenge Index,” the Washington Post calculates the number of college-level tests, such as Advanced Placement tests, given in the school each year divided by the number of graduates for that year. With a few exceptions, public high schools with a ratio of 1.0 or higher, meaning the school had as many tests as graduates, were recognized on this list.
E. C. Glass saw huge gains in the rankings, improving state-wide from No. 50 last year to No. 38 this year, and nationally from 725 last year to 483 this year. Heritage placed 114 in the state and 1,976 nationally out of the roughly 2,000 schools recognized nationwide. These ratios are based on the graduating class of 2013 and the AP tests given during that school year. During that school year, the division saw an increase of 2 percent in the number of total high school students taking at least one AP course.
“Our phenomenal gains on the national and state rankings represent the hard work of our students and staff,” said E. C. Glass principal Tracy Richardson. “Last year, we had many more students who challenged themselves with advanced and AP courses. Lynchburg City Schools offers the most AP courses in this area and added another one this year. We are extremely proud of this. This truly speaks to the ‘tradition of excellence’ that we are continuing at E. C. Glass High School.”
Tim Beatty, principal of Heritage High School added, “We are very proud of this recognition. This honor is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our guidance staff and teachers to meet the needs of our students. Our guidance staff and teachers do an outstanding job of identifying students who are capable of meeting the challenges and rigor of AP and advanced courses.”
This school year, the division has seen a 34 percent increase in the number of students taking at least one AP course.
According to the Washington Post, only 9 percent of the approximately 22,000 U.S. public high schools managed to reach the standard of at least a 1.0 index and be placed on the list. The rating is intended to reveal the level of a high school’s commitment to preparing students for college.
Click here for full rankings and an explanation of how schools are selected