Friday, April 28, 2017 / by Jason Sampson
Best High Schools In Hampton Roads. You'll Be Surprised Who Is At The Top!
Each year US News & World Reports does an in depth National study of our schools and ranks them. According to US News & World Reports, this is how they determine the awards:
About the Awards
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GoldTop 500 Schools based on highest college readiness
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SilverHigh-performing schools based on lower college readiness.
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BronzeHigh-performing schools based on state exam performance, listed alphabetically.
Award Distribution

How We Determine the Awards
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STEP 1 | Students perform better than expected in their state.
We looked at reading and math results for students on each state's proficiency tests and then factored in the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, who tend to score lower.
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STEP 2 | Disadvantaged students perform better than state average.
We compared each school's math and reading proficiency rates for disadvantaged students - black, Hispanic and low-income - with the statewide results for these student groups and then selected schools that were performing better than their state averages.
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STEP 3 | Student graduation rates meet or exceed a national standard
We excluded schools from consideration if their graduation rates were lower than 75 percent - a threshold that is higher than a federal law that requires states to give extra resources to schools below 67 percent.
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STEP 4 | Students are prepared for college-level coursework.
We calculated a College Readiness Index, which is based on the school's AP participation rate and how well the students did on those tests. Tiebeakers were used to determine ranks of schools that achieved the same College Readiness Index.
Now that you have a clear understanding of how they determine the awards, we'll get to the rankings for Hampton Roads schools. This list includes the Seven Cities; Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton & Newport News. Sorry guys & gals, there were no schools in the Hampton Roads Seven Cities that received a Gold Award, but we were fortunate enough to rank high enough for a Silver Awards. Here is the list from highest ranking to lowest, then alphabetical by City, then by rank in that City:
#1 Maury High School
Norfolk, VA
#24 in Virginia
#729 Nationally
83% Graduation Rate
49.7 College Readiness
Silver Award
#2 Princess Anne High School
Virginia Beach, VA
#31 in Virginia
#992 Nationally
94% Graduation Rate
44.2 College Readiness
#3 Hickory High School
Chesapeake, VA
#33 in Virginia
#1181 Nationally
98% Graduation Rate
40.5 College Readiness
#4 First Colonial High School
Virginia Beach, VA
#37 in Virginia
#1471 Nationally
87% Graduation Rate
35.8 College Readiness
#5 Ocean Lakes High School
Virginia Beach, VA
#38 in Virginia
#1502 Nationally
93% Graduation Rate
35.3 College Readiness
Silver Award
#6 Tallwood High School
Virginia Beach, VA
#39 in Virginia
#1560 Nationally
94% Graduation Rate
34.4 College Readiness
Silver Award
#7 Great Bridge High School
Chesapeake, VA
#41 in Virginia
#1774 Nationally
96% Graduation Rate
31.1 College Readiness
Silver Award
#8 Grassfield High School
Chesapeake, VA
#42 in Virginia
#1788 Nationally
96% Graduation Rate
30.9 College Readiness
Silver Award
#9 Salem High School
Virginia Beach, VA
#43 in Virginia
#1844 Nationally
92% Graduation Rate
30.2 College Readiness
Silver Award
#10 Warwick High School
Newport News, VA
#45 in Virginia
#2079 Nationally
89% Graduation Rate
27.2 College Readiness
Silver Award
#11 Granby High School
Norfolk, VA
#47 in Virginia
#2122 Nationally
80% Graduation Rate
26.7 College Readiness
Silver Award
#12 Bayside High School
Virginia Beach, VA
#49 in Virginia
#2186 Nationally
88% Graduation Rate
26.0 College Readiness
#13 Norview High School
Norfolk, VA
#50 in Virginia
#2288 Nationally
82% Graduation Rate
24.7 College Readiness
Silver Award
#14 Oscar F. Smith High
Chesapeake, VA
#61 in Virginia
Nationally Recognized
90% Graduation Rate
18.1 College Readiness
#15 Western Branch High
Chesapeake, VA
#63 in Virginia
Nationally Recognized
91% Graduation Rate
17.0 College Readiness
Bronze Award
#16 Deep Creek High
Chesapeake, VA
#72 in Virginia
Nationally Recognize
93% Graduation Rate
14.3 College Readiness
Bronze Award
#17 Indian River High
Chesapeake, VA
#79 in Virginia
Nationally Recognized
90% Graduation Rate
11.0 College Readiness
Bronze Award
I.C. Norcom High
Portsmouth, VA
Nationally Recognized
82% Graduation Rate
2.9 College Readiness
Bronze Award
Green Run Collegiate (different than G.R. High)
Virginia Beach, VA
Nationally Recognized
Ranking N/A
Bronze Award
Bethel High
Hampton, VA
88% Graduation Rate
18.2 College Readiness
No Award
Hampton High
Hampton, VA
88% Graduation Rate
18.0 College Readiness
No Award
Kecoughtan High
Hampton, VA
88% Graduation Rate
29.7 College Readiness
No Award
Phoebus High
Hampton, VA
85% Graduation Rate
14.3 College Readiness
No Award
Achievable Dream Middle/High
Newport News, VA
96% Graduation Rate
28.6 College Readiness
No Award
Denbigh High
Newport News, VA
88% Graduation Rate
19.2 College Readiness
No Award
Heritage High
Newport News, VA
83% Graduation Rate
12.7 College Readiness
No Award
Menchville High
Newport News, VA
89% Graduation Rate
30.8 College Readiness
No Award
Woodside High
Newport News, VA
94% Graduation Rate
27.8 College Readiness
No Award
Booker T. Washington High
Norfolk, VA
81% Graduation Rate
19.6 College Readiness
No Award
Lake Taylor High School
Norfolk, VA
77% Graduation Rate
18.6 College Readiness
No Award
Churchland High
Portsmouth, VA
94% Graduation Rate
9.8 College Readiness
No Award
Woodrow Wilson High
Portsmouth, VA
85% Graduation Rate
7.5 College Readiness
No Award
Kings Fork High
Suffolk, VA
88% Graduation Rate
14.8 College Readiness
No Award
Lakeland High
Suffolk, VA
82% Graduation Rate
6.4 College Readiness
No Award
Nansemond River High
Suffolk, VA
89% Graduation Rate
13.7 College Readiness
No Award
Floyd Kellam High
Virginia Beach, VA
94% Graduation Rate
38.0 College Readiness
No Award
Frank W. Cox High
Virginia Beach, VA
91% Graduation Rate
46.1 College Readiness
No Award
Green Run High (different than G.R. Collegiate)
Virginia Beach, VA
81% Graduation Rate
16.6 College Readiness
No Award
Kempsville High
Virginia Beach, VA
83% Graduation Rate
22.0 College Readiness
No Award
Landstown High
Virginia Beach, VA
90% Graduation Rate
26.8 College Readiness
No Award
Information Courtesy of US News & World Reports. Click here to see the full article US News & World Reports
Please don't shoot the messenger if you don't agree with their methodology or rankings.
Article written by Jason Sampson.
About the Author:
Jason Sampson is a licensed Realtor in Virginia and focuses his "Guaranteed Sold or I'll Buy It Myself" Sales Strategy in the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads. He owns multiple real estate related businesses. In addition, he's a long time Real Estate Investor, Proper Manager, Landlord, and Mentor. Jason is married to his awesome wife of 5 years, Dana (no, she didn't force him to say that). They are not only Foster parents for the City of Virginia Beach, but also have a four legged child named Mejo. Jason enjoys traveling all over the world exploring the ocean scuba diving as well as learning about other cultures and traditions on land.
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