FYI

For the first time ever, Newsweek magazine has ranked six Montgomery County public high schools in the top 100 high schools in the nation -- more than any other school district in the United States. In the previous four years, five high schools have appeared in the top 100. All of the county's eligible schools are counted among the top 3 percent in the country, according to Newsweek.
The six top high schools and their rankings are:
Richard Montgomery, 32
Thomas S. Wootton, 59
Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 63 (This is the one we're zoned for)
Walt Whitman, 68
Walter Johnson, 75
Winston Churchill, 96
The Newsweek rankings highlight the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) reform efforts over the last eight years to encourage more high school students from every background to take challenging Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. Participation in these rigorous programs provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in college and the world of work. Newsweek uses the "Challenge Index," which has been featured for the past several years in The Washington Post, as a way to measure the rigor of a high school academic program. The index, developed by Jay Mathews, is derived from the number of AP or IB tests taken by all students at a school divided by the number of graduating seniors. Since 2000, MCPS has undertaken significant reforms to increase academic success for all students and close the achievement gap. Fundamentally, the reforms are predicated upon hiring and training high-quality teachers, reducing class sizes and offering students a rigorous and challenging curriculum.
Newsweek's Rankings of Montgomery County Schools Among the Top U.S. High Schools
32 Richard Montgomery
59 Thomas Wootton
63 Bethesda-Chevy Chase
68 Walt Whitman
75 Walter Johnson
96 Winston Churchill
199 Montgomery Blair
296 Springbrook
312 Poolesville
313 Rockville
328 Albert Einstein
338 James Hubert Blake
418 Paint Branch
438 Watkins Mill
474 Northwest
505 Sherwood
552 Col. Zadok Magruder
651 Gaithersburg
696 Quince Orchard
816 Wheaton
837 John F. Kennedy
860 Damascus
906 Seneca Valley
* This list excludes Northwood High School and Clarksburg High School because they did not have graduating seniors in 2007.
Read the package in its entirety at http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380>