Milwaukee Public Schools
Press Release

MPS high schools take state’s top 2 spots on Washington Post best list

6 MPS schools in total make Post's list of schools that challenge students to achieve through college-level exams

By - Apr 20th, 2015 12:36 pm

MILWAUKEE (April 20, 2015) – MPS high schools took Wisconsin’s top two spots on this year’s Washington Post list of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” – those that are best in the nation at challenging their students to achieve through college-level exams.

Six MPS schools in total made the national list, which was released Monday. The MPS schools and their state rankings are:

#1: Carmen High School of Science and Technology – South Campus
#2: Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School
#6: Rufus King International High School
#20: Milwaukee School of Languages
#29: Riverside University High School
#35: Milwaukee High School of the Arts

The Post creates the list by dividing the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests a school administers by the number of graduating seniors. MPS has increased Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate offerings in recent years, including offering more AP classes in high schools across the district and developing IB opportunities.

“In recent years, Milwaukee Public Schools has taken significant steps to improve outcomes so more students are prepared for college and career success. Challenging students to take more rigorous coursework is an important part of that work,” MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver said. “I’m proud to say that six of our high schools are earning notice on a national stage for their efforts. Making sure more students have access to curriculum that challenges and engages them is a critical part of the work we are doing now to rethink high schools and to redesign our curriculum.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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One thought on “MPS high schools take state’s top 2 spots on Washington Post best list”

  1. Hoorah for MPS! Maybe the Wisconsin governor and legislature will get off their kick of reducing the number of kids attending our public schools by encouraging them to attend private schools. I am sick and tired of my tax money going toward paying for private schools. Our country was made the greatest country in the world by the public schools and now, Republicans are trying to destroy the Public School system and replace the system with “for profit” schools. It’s time we replaced all those who voted to expand Charter Schools and in the process reducing the number of kids attending public schools. Oh well, maybe our electorate will get smart some day soon and realize what our politicians are doing to us. Statistics show that those charter schools, etc., are not substantially improving grades, if at all. They’re certainly not worth our extra tax dollars supporting them.

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