Richmond-based school ranked 10th best in the nation

Published August 27, 2014 by Robert Powell, III

A Richmond-based magnet school, the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, has been ranked as the 10th best public high school in the nation.

The school serves gifted students from 12 localities in the Richmond area.

The ranking by the news website Daily Beast was based on six indicators, with students’ graduation and college acceptance rates weighted most heavily. Other criteria included college-level courses and exams, SAT and ACT scores, and percentage of students receiving free or reduced-cost lunches.

The Daily Beast reported that the school has a college-bound rate of 98.9 percent. Average SAT scores are 2095 while average ACT scores are 31.

Nearly 65 percent of students are enrolled in AP courses, with a pass rate on AP exams of 97.8 percent.

In a news release, the school said that its 2014 graduates received more than $13 million in scholarships, averaging $80,000 per student.

The only other Virginia school listed in the top 200 high schools was George Mason High School in Falls Church. It was ranked No. 161..

The top school on the list is the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky.

The other schools in the top 10 were:

2. BASIS Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Ariz.
3. School for the Talented and Gifted, Dallas
4. International Baccalaureate School at Bartow High, Bartow, Fla.
5. BASIS Oro Valley, Oro Valley, Ariz.
6. Signature School, Evansville, Ind.
7. School of Science/Engineering, Dallas
8. Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, Hot Springs, Ark.
9. School for Advanced Studies, Miami

To come up with its list, the Daily Beast examined 2012-13 data from the U.S. Department of Education, contaciting schools with above-average graduation rates of at least 85 percent. About 1,200 public schools completed a survey on which the ranking is based.