The US News & World Report released a list of the best Oklahoma high schools, ranking Norman North High School at number 13 and Norman High School at number 79.
High schools were ranked according to students’ college readiness, state assessment proficiency and performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rate.
Of the 462 high schools in Oklahoma, 404 high schools made the rankings list. Classen High School of Advanced Studies in the Oklahoma City Public Schools district received the number one ranking on the list.
Classen High School of Advanced Studies is an application school within the Oklahoma City Public Schools district. Oklahoma City Public Schools application schools are free to middle and high schoolers, but the schools have selective admission requirements. Student admission is determined by achievement tests, attendance, auditions, grades and recommendations.
Many smaller high schools earned higher rankings than larger high schools across the state. Broken Arrow High School and Mustang High School with the two largest enrollments in the state came in at number 186 and 168. Kiowa High School and Cheyenne High School made it into the top 10 of the list with enrollments of fewer than 100 students through ninth to 12th grade.
Thirty percent of the high schools’ scores in the ranking were determined by college readiness based on enrolled 12th graders who earned a passing score on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.
AP scores were not available to US News, which left an “N/A” on many schools' scores for college readiness. The Oklahoma State Department of Education missed the deadline to include these AP scores in the ranking which may have had an impact on the results from US News.
Tulsa school districts have earned lower rankings than in previous years. Bixby High School and Jenks High School ranked in the top 20 in 2022, and both high schools have dropped into the 60s in the 2024 rankings list. Jenks Superintendent Stacey Butterfield said to the Tulsa World that the district wants to be accurately represented by the state department for the work happening within their schools.
Only two out of the top 10 high schools included scores for college readiness. Classen High School of Advanced Studies and Booker T. Washington High School, the top two on the list, are among the only Oklahoma high schools that take IB exams in addition to AP exams.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Peggy Dodd. Avery Avery copy edited this story.
