Clark County school among top 100 on list of best Ohio schools

Shawnee High School in Clark County is ranked among the top 100 best rated public schools in the state of Ohio, according to recent data released by U.S. News and World Report.

In the annual rankings of the Best Public High Schools released, Shawnee High School came in at 90, out-ranking the next closest area school by 100.

Brian Kuhn, Superintendent of Clark-Shawnee Local School District, said the ranking is proof of the Clark-Shawnee communities dedication to education.

“This shows, is evidence, that this community values education,” Kuhn said. “Students, staff, parents, have made it a priority to invest in education.”

MORE: Here is where high schools in Clark, Champaign counties rank on national list

The rankings work this way - 40 percent is based on how many students take and pass Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests, 30 percent on state test scores for poor and minority students, 20 percent on overall results of state math and reading tests and 10 percent on graduation rate.

Kuhn said many students from Shawnee High School leave prepared for college, or a career.

“This year at graduation we will have three to five students who will graduate with their high school degree, and also an associates degree due to the college credit program,” Kuhn said. “We focus on preparing our students for success in whatever they want to pursue in the future.”

U.S. News ranked a total of 916 schools in the state of Ohio in the annual report released Tuesday. According to their website, U.S. News’ goal when creating the rankings list was, “to provide a clear, unbiased picture of how well public schools serve all their students - from the highest to lowest achieving.”

The media company first published rankings in 2007 and has been publishing an updated list once a year since then.

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The best school in the state of Ohio was Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, in Champaign County the highest rated school was West Liberty-Salem Middle/High School, who came in at 301.

Kriag Hissong, Superintendent of West Liberty-Salem Local School District, said he was, “pleased,” with the ranking.

“We’re a good community, with good families,” Hissong said. “We are very pleased that students and parents are always trying to do something different to stand out.”

There were 180 schools in the state of Ohio that were ‘unranked,’ including Southeastern Sr. High School in Clark County and Mechanicsburg High School in Champaign County.

Schools marked as ‘unranked’ were not able to achieve a ranking due to; not having enough 12th graders, did not have a 12th grade, or the state suppressed too much of its assessment data so the data could not be used in the rankings, according to U.S. News’ website.

Clark County:

Shawnee High School: 90

Northwestern Junior/Senior High School: 200

Northeastern High School: 309

Greenon High School: 379

Tecumseh High School: 490

Kenton Ridge School (District schools were ranked, not just the high school; Northeastern High ranked separately): 515-736

Springfield City Schools (District schools were ranked, not just the high school): 515-736

Southeastern Sr. High School: Unranked

Champaign County:

West Liberty - Salem Middle/High School: 301

Urbana High School: 302