Alabama well represented on list of 25 best high schools in the South

The Daily Beast just released its latest list of the best high schools in the South, and two of Alabama’s premier secondary schools made the cut.

Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School (JCIB) in Irondale came in at number 8, followed by the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science (ASMS) in Mobile at number 20.

“We used six indicators culled from school surveys to compare public high schools in the U.S., with graduation and college acceptance rates weighed most heavily,” The Daily Beast said of the formula they used to rank the schools. “Other criteria included college-level courses and exams, as well as SAT and ACT scores.”

Texas and Florida led the way with four schools making the list from each state. No other state had more than two.

Both of the Alabama schools boast a 100 percent graduation rate. 87 percent of ASMS students are enrolled in some type of advanced classes, compared to 69 percent at JCIB. But the average JCIB student makes a whopping 29.6 on the ACT, a point higher than the average ASMS student.

JCIB was also ranked Alabama’s “most challenging high school” earlier this year by the Washington Post.

Its become so well-known for its academics that “JCIB Bookworm” gear has become popular online.

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RELATED: Alabama’s 7 most challenging high schools

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Here are all of the Daily Beast’s statistics on the two Alabama schools:

8. Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School – Shades Valley
Irondale, Alabama

Overall Rank: 11
FINAL SCORE: 8.8237
School Type: Regular
Enrollment: Selective
Graduation Rate: 100.0%
College Bound: 100%
% Students Enrolled in AP/IB/AICE: 69%
AP/IB Tests per student: 2.61
AP/IB Pass Rate: 0.74
SAT: 1908
ACT: 29.6

20. Alabama School of Mathematics and Science
Mobile, Alabama

Overall Rank: 39
FINAL SCORE: 8.0214
School Type: Magnet
Enrollment: Selective
Graduation Rate: 100.0%
College Bound: 100%
% Students Enrolled in AP/IB/AICE: 87%
AP/IB Tests per student: 0.61
AP/IB Pass Rate: 0.56
SAT: 1280
ACT: 28.6

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