Grain Valley High School Makes National List of Most Challenging High Schools... Again

Grain Valley is named to the Washington Post's list of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” for the 3rd year in a row. 

Grain Valley High School is ranked in the top five percent of public high schools in the United States, 12th in the state of Missouri, and 2nd among Missouri schools in the Kansas City Metro Area behind Park Hill High School.

Rankings are based on the total number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests given at a school each year, divided by the number of seniors who graduate in May. The list also looks at ACT scores, Advanced Placement scores (the percentage of seniors who score a “3” or higher on at least one exam), and free and reduced lunch numbers.

Jay Mathews compiles the list for the Washington Post. He states the significance of Advanced Placement courses, “AP, IB and AICE are important because they give average students a chance to experience… heavy college reading list and long, analytical college examinations. Research has found that even low-performing students who got a “2” on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP.”

This honor is the third national recognition for Grain Valley Schools in the past 2 years. Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report have also recognized Grain Valley High School as a top U.S. high school for preparing students for college.

Please check outhttp://apps.washingtonpost.com/local/highschoolchallenge/ for the full list of rankings and additional articles.