OTTAWA HILLS, Ohio — Ottawa Hills High School has been declared the number one high school in Ohio, according to the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings released Tuesday.
The survey places the school at 92 nationally out of nearly 18,000 schools ranked.
Both scores are up from last year, when Ottawa Hills High School was ranked number five in Ohio and at 136 nationally.
In the “Math and Reading Proficiency Rank” category, Ottawa Hills High School was tied for first in the United States.
“We are thrilled to be considered the number one high school in Ohio and among the top 100 in the United States,” Principal Ben McMurray said. “Our faculty and staff work incredibly hard to ensure our students feel valued, challenged and supported. Our school’s mission encourages students to be well-rounded, creative, compassionate, and curious. We are extremely grateful for the strong partnership with our parents and community.”
Ottawa Hills High School has 322 students in grades 9-12.
“Ottawa Hills Local Schools truly has a perfect formula within the village it calls home: top-notch, talented and dedicated educators and staff, a diverse student population who are motivated to learn, supportive parents who make their child’s learning their top priority at home, and a community that centers itself around the school district,” superintendent Dr. Adam Fineske said. “The credit goes to these teachers, students and outstanding families within the village.”
The rankings looked at 902 high schools and 732 school districts in Ohio.
In coordination with RTI International, U.S. News ranked approximately 17,790 public high schools out of more than 24,000 reviewed.
U.S. News does not collect any information directly from high schools. The data comes from four sources: the Common Core of Data from the U.S. Department of Education website, Ohio math and reading level assessment tests and high school graduation rates (from the 2017-2018 school year), the College Board and the International Baccalaureate.
The rankings use six indicators of school quality:
- College readiness, based on the proportions of 12th graders who took and passed AP and/or IB exams.
- College curriculum breadth, based on proportions of 12th graders who took and passed AP and/or IB exams in multiple content areas.
- Math and reading proficiency, based on student performance on state-required tests.
- Math and reading performance, based on whether performance on state assessments exceeded expectations given the school’s proportion of underserved students.
- Underserved student performance, based on how black, Hispanic, and low-income students performed on state assessments compared with those who are not underserved in the state.
- Graduation rates, based on the proportion of students who entered 9th grade in 2013-2014 and graduated four years later.
