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MSSM Receives Gold Medal Ranking in Top 100 High Schools Nationwide

2010-02-05

U.S.News & World Report ranked the Maine School of Science and Mathematics as a Gold Medal Top Performing (Top 100) public high school in the nation. This is the third year of the US.News & World Report rankings and the third year that the Maine School of Science and Mathematics is recognized as a Gold Medal high school.

The MSSM is the only school from Maine to make the gold medal list. Two other schools in New England made the top 100 – Boston Latin, 24th and Belmont High School, 100th, both in Massachusetts.

Four Maine high schools earned silver medals, and three earned bronze medals. The ranking evaluates more than 21,000 public high schools in the country. Overall, Maine schools are ranked 9th in the nation. The magazine reported the results in its Dec. 11th online edition and will be in the next print issue.

After learning the news, the MSSM’s Acting Executive Director/Academic Dean, Catherine Bowker said “We are very pleased to have the hard work and dedication of our students' and faculty recognized”. She went on to say “This is also well deserved recognition for the state of Maine and a testament to the quality education offered by Maine's public schools”.

The ranking focuses primarily on college-readiness, though it also used measures to determine how well the schools serve all its students well, not just those who are bound for college. The ranking methodology use Advanced Placement data as the major benchmark for success. AP is a College Board program that offers college-level courses at high schools across the country. This measured which schools produced the best college-level achievement for the highest percentages of their students. The rankings also looked for schools in which economically-disadvantaged students performed better than would statistically be expected, and where minorities and low-income students performed better than the average for their group in the same state.

Opened in 1995, MSSM has an enrollment of 135 students from all around the state. In 2009, the graduating class of 43 students received approximately three million dollars in scholarship awards. The school challenges students to achieve their aspirations by fostering intellectual growth through a rigorous curriculum in advanced mathematics, science, and humanities. The residential experience encourages personal accountability and the development of skills in relationships, healthful living and social diversity. This mission is advanced through outreach programs including distance education, summer programs and workshops for students and teachers throughout the state.

The full list of schools, methodology, and news reporting on the rankings can be found here.