Century Among Newsweek’s Best 2012 High Schools

in Sykesville was among the 23 high schools in Maryland to make the list of Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools in 2012.

Liberty High School, and 303rd in the nation on Newsweek’s rankings last year, did not appear on the list this year.

Century High School was ranked 854^th out of 1,000 high schools in the nation and 20^th in Maryland. Last year, it ranked 469 nationally, or 19th in the state. 

“Well, I will put my students and staff against anyone in the country, regardless of what any magazines may say,” Tom Clowes, principal at Liberty High School, told Patch in reaction to his school’s absence on the rankings.

“It’s nice to be nationally ranked, and it looks good,” Clowes said, but he said that he focuses on Maryland High School Assessments passage rates, drop out rates, graduation rates, the percentage of graduates going to a two-or-four-year college and attendance.

The Newsweek list is based on six factors: graduation rate, college matriculation rate, standardized tests taken per student and scores (AP/IB/AICE), ACT/SAT scores and AP courses.

Here’s how Century High School measured up in a selection of criteria, according to the Newsweek report:

Graduation rate: 100 percent

College bound: 82 percent

Average SAT: 1599

Average ACT: 23.8

To see the full list of Maryland high school rankings by Newsweek, go here.

Tell us in comments: what do you think of the list? Should Liberty have also made the Newsweek rankings?