As students began a new school year at Cherry Hill High School East last week, they walked into a high school recently named as one of the top 100 in the United States, according to Newsweek.
On Aug. 19, Newsweek magazine released its annual list of the top 500 high schools in the United States. Cherry Hill East ranked No. 85, the second-highest ranked public high school in South Jersey after Haddonfield Memorial High School and 22nd-highest ranked public high school overall in New Jersey. Newsweek gave Cherry Hill East 85 out of a possible 100 points.
Newsweek first created a shortlist of high schools ranking in the 70th percentile on state-level math and language arts assessments. Those high schools were then ranked based on a College Readiness Index, which looked at every school’s college enrollment rate, graduation rate, weighted AP composite score, weighted SAT and ACT composite score, student retention from ninth to 12th grade and counselor-to-student ratio. The data was put together to create one score. All of the data used for the list was from the 2013–14 school year.
Cherry Hill Public Schools Superintendent Joe Meloche said it was tremendous for Cherry Hill East to be recognized on a national level. He said the high ranking is the result of the work of the staff, students and parents at all grade levels.
“To have the work of our students, our staff and our community recognized by such a respected institution validates the time and effort that is invested in education in Cherry Hill, kindergarten through 12th grade,” he said.
There were a number of areas where Cherry Hill East scored high. One area was with graduation rate. Cherry Hill East was credited with graduating 100 percent of its 2013–14 class. The school also had 98 percent retention rate.
Meloche said the district doesn’t only want students to perform well in high school, but to be in a position to succeed in college as well. He credited teachers and parents for setting the bar high for students.
“The staff and the community work together to encourage and to support students on their path to education beyond high school,” Meloche said.
Cherry Hill East was also credited with having lots of counselors available for students. The school has one counselor for every 100 students, considerably lower than other schools on the list. Schools ranked just below Cherry Hill East, such as Redwood High School in California and Dublin Jerome High School in Ohio, had counselor-to-student ratios of more than 300-to-1.
Cherry Hill East also had very good test scores, especially on Advanced Placement testing. Students averaged a 4.0 on AP testing in the 2013–14 school year, higher than the average scores of other top-100 schools on Newsweek’s list.
Meloche said the school’s success on AP testing is two-fold. He credited the staff with challenging students to think critically from an early age, saying this skill is important to succeeding in advanced placement classes. He also said the AP curriculum in Cherry Hill plays a big part.
“Our AP instructors have invested a great deal of time in developing curriculum that is aligned with the expectations and the focus of the AP assessments,” Meloche said.
To see the full list of the top 500 high schools in the United States, visit www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2015.
