To: AP, IB or Cambridge program contact
From: America’s Best High Schools
Washingtonpost.com has taken over the annual high school list because of the sale of
Newsweek. It will publish the 2011 list, based on my Challenge Index, this spring. If
your school gave at least as many AP, IB or Cambridge exams as you had graduating
seniors in 2010, you qualify. If you are a district information specialist please collect this
data for each of yr qualifying schools. . Please send this form back to me at
mathewsj@washpost.com as straight email, NOT attachment. If you know people at
other public schools with strong AP, IB or Cambridge programs, please forward this form
to them. The list should appear in the spring. Last year it drew 20 million page views in
its first week.
NAME OF SCHOOL______________________________________________________
LOCATION_____________________________________________________________
YOUR NAME, TITLE_____________________________________________________
YOUR PHONE AND EMAIL_______________________________________________
1. Total number of AP tests given in 2010______________________________
2. Total number of IB or Cambridge tests given in 2010. (Do NOT count IB TOK or
extended essay grades) _______________________________________
3. (For those high schools that give both AP and IB, we also need to know how many
AP tests in 2010 were taken by IB students who also took an IB test in that same subject
that year. We will subtract those overlapping AP tests from the total. Overlap
total:_____________________)
4. Total number of seniors who graduated in May or June of 2010. (Do NOT count
certificates of completion) ______________
5. Percentage of AP tests with scores of 3 or above or IB tests with scores of 4 or
above___________________________________________________________
6. The percentage of total school enrollment that qualified for free or reduced lunch
subsidies. ________________________________________________________
7. Your “Equity and Excellence” percentage. _______________________________
(This can be found near the bottom of the summary page of your AP grade report, at the
far right side of the “Equity and Excellence” line, right after the words “GRADUATING
CLASS SUMMARY.” That Equity and Excellence number is the percentage of the
ENTIRE senior class who got at least at 3 on at least one AP test some time in high
school. If you are an IB school, we would love your best estimate of the percentage of
your total graduating class that had at least one 4 on one IB test in high school. If you
give both IB and AP tests, then we would love a combined figure: the percentage of all
graduating seniors who had at least a 3 on an AP test or a 4 on an IB test in high school.
We will take your best estimate. )
8. Average TOTAL score (out of 2400) on the SAT, or the average ACT score, for
your class of 2010._____________
9. We are also going to try to count college courses taken by your students under
dual or concurrent enrollment programs, if they had final exams comparable to AP or IB
that were written and graded by people who do NOT work for you. If you want me to
send you the separate form for this data, just check this space at the bottom. Getting the
data may prove difficult for you. These tests may not add much to your total. But I am
willing to try it if you are. _______________