Were there changes to the methodology used in the 2009 Americas Best High Schools rankings?
In the calculation of this year’s college readiness index, we included the participation in and performance on the International Baccalaureate (IB) exams, which were not part of last year’s methodology. IB exams and the IB curriculum are increasingly offered at many high schools in the United States, and many colleges in the United States grant credit to incoming students for high scores on certain IB courses, just as they do with certain Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Therefore, while not as widely offered as AP, IB is universally considered college-level curriculum. We felt it was important to add to the rankings methodology since some high schools offer an extensive IB curriculum and their college readiness index was being understated without including IB. U.S. News and School Evaluation Services worked with IB to get school level data. (AP participation and performance continue to be part of the college readiness index calculation.
