Maryland public schools rank first in the nation in the percentage of high schools offering—and students taking—college-level courses.

Newsweek magazine late yesterday released its own analysis of its annual “America’s Top High Schools” issue.  The article, “Mid-Atlantic Excelence,” found that Maryland has the highest percentage of high schools on the list (29.5 percent), more than five points better than the second place state, Virginia.

When the magazine’s editors looked at the percentage of students attending on of the top 1,500 schools, Maryland did even better.  The State has 31.6 percent of its students attending one of the top schools, with Virginia again second with 26.6 percent.

The Newsweek list, known as the Challenge Index, looks at student enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge courses and tests, which have been shown to be good preparation for high education.  Colleges have lauded these programs, and many give college credit for success on the rigorous end-of-course exams attached to the courses.  The Maryland State Department of Education has worked closely with the College Board to bring more college-level AP courses to schools across the State.  Maryland has 83 high schools among the top schools on the Challenge Index.

“Our goal is to have our high schools offer a challenging curriculum to all of our students,” said State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.  “This new research gives us more evidence that we are making a difference for our students, but we won’t be satisfied until those opportunities are available to everyone.”

The new ranking follows two reports from earlier this year, ranking Maryland as first in the nation.  Education Week ranked Maryland public schools as the nation’s best, and the College Board found that Maryland schools ranked first in the percentage of students taking Advanced Placement courses and scoring at the college mastery level (scores 3-5).