Several Prince William County Schools (PWCS) were ranked by the Washington Post as some of the “most challenging” schools in the country.
The “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” is an annual ranking of schools in the United States that challenge all students based on participation in college-level courses and tests such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge, and Advanced International Certificate of Education,” stated a release.
According to a release, Patriot High School in Nokesville ranked 538th out of 22,000 high schools, and Osbourn Park High School in Manassas ranked 596th – scoring them within the top three percent in the nation.
All of PWCS’ high schools were in the top nine-percent on the list, although Colgan High School was not included, as it was not open for the year the data was collected.
“Only 12 percent of the nation’s 22,000 schools make the newspaper’s list of the ‘most challenging,’ compiling a ‘challenge index’ of 1.00 or better,” stated a release.
More on the ranking calculations, and PWCS schools that made the list:
The index score is calculated on the number of college-level tests given at a school in the previous calendar year divided by the number of graduates that year. An index score of at least 1.00 is required to make the list, with the highest scoring school getting a 26.250. A summary of PWCS schools follows:
School Name National Ranking Index Score
Patriot 538 3.434
Osbourn Park 596 3.293
Brentsville 722 2.990
Battlefield 760 2.909
Forest Park 791 2.850
Hylton 808 2.816
Potomac 918 2.595
Woodbridge 1028 2.433
Gar-Field 1609 1.733
Freedom 1802 1.542
Stonewall 1909 1.427
