Olentangy High School (OHS) and Olentangy Liberty High School (OLHS) were named among the best high schools in America by Newsweek for the fifth consecutive year. Only six percent of all American public high schools were included on the 2010 list.
Newsweek lists OHS’s Challenge Index score as 1.463* with a 46.7 Equity and Excellence (E&E) percentage and an overall ranking of 1118*. OLHS’s 2.711 Performance Index score gives them a ranking of 324 with an E&E percentage of 55.5. Olentangy Orange High School (OOHS) was not eligible for this ranking as the data includes 2009 graduates and OOHS did not have seniors until 2010.
“This is a great example of the efforts of our staff in providing excellent learning opportunities for our students,” said Olentangy Superintendent Wade Lucas, Ed.D. “In addition, this would not be possible without our supportive community, parents and the hard work of our students.”
The Newsweek research looks at the total number of 2009 Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests a school gives then divides that number by the number of graduates from that same year. This calculations is known as the Challenge Index score that is then ranked from highest to lowest. The E&E percentage indicates how many seniors received a passing mark on an AP or International Baccalaureate exam.
While this system is designed to compare high schools across the country based upon a single set of data, it does create a true comparison problem for the 2009 OHS data. 2009 marks the first year that OOHS was open, but the did not have graduates until 2010. OOHS did give 191 AP tests in 2009, but students who would have graduated from OOHS that year remained at OHS. This creates an unbalanced AP tests to graduates ration for OHS. If you add the 191 OOHS AP tests to the OHS data, that puts OHS’s Challenge Index at 1.94 and ranks them at 724. This updated information also means that both OHS and OLHS have increased their Challenge Index score each of the past five years.
In Ohio, 36 high schools were named to the Newsweek list, including only 11 from Central, Ohio: Bexley (3.021), OLHS (2.711), Dublin Jerome (2.435), Upper Arlington (2.083), Dublin Coffman (2.076), Dublin Scioto (1.989), OHS (1.94*), Westerville North (1.451), Westerville South (1.236), Independence (1.025) and Westerville Central (1.018). Of the six Central, Ohio school districts, Olentangy has the lowest cost per pupil for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 of $9,461.
*The 2009 Newsweek Challenge Index and rating for OHS does not take into account the opening of OOHS. OOHS opened in 2009 and did give 191 AP tests, mostly to juniors, however there were no seniors at OOHS that year. OHS’s data includes an artificially large graduating class in comparison to the number of AP tests given, which decreases their Challenge Index score. If you add the 191 OOHS AP tests to the OHS data, this increases their Challenge Index to 1.94 and ranking to 724.