This South Carolina high school ranks among the best in the nation — again. Here’s why
A South Carolina high school was named one of the best in the nation — again.
This year, Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston earned the No. 2 spot on a list from U.S. News & World Report. The school had also earned nationwide recognition in 2021 and 2020, The State and McClatchy News reported.
To come up with the latest findings, U.S. News & World Report examined data from the federal government, The College Board and other sources. It looked at six categories: “college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates,” according to results published Tuesday, April 26.
“While the six ranking indicators that determined each school’s rank were the same as those used in the three prior years, U.S. News adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on schools in the 2019-2020 school year,” officials said in the report.
Of more than 17,800 schools ranked nationwide, Academic Magnet High School was the only one in the Palmetto State to earn a top 10 spot on the list. It fell just behind the highest-ranking campus — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia.
Academic Magnet High School offers honors and Advanced Placement classes, “and every student completes an independent research project over their junior and senior years. Students’ work has been published in multiple academic and professional journals,” according to U.S. News & World Report.
North Charleston is no stranger to schools that have strong academic showings. Among the 221 South Carolina schools considered in the rankings, the city’s Charleston County School of the Arts was No. 2 and Palmetto Scholars Academy was No. 3.
Rounding out the top five schools in South Carolina were Mayo High School for Math, Science & Technology in Darlington and Wando High School in Mount Pleasant.
Nationwide, other top schools were Signature School in Evansville, Indiana; School for Advanced Studies in Miami; and Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago, rankings show.
If high school graduates are off to college, South Carolina may be an ideal place for them to land in the future.
That’s because Columbia and Charleston were named top cities for recent college graduates to start their careers. McClatchy News reported in May 2021.
