U.S. News & World Report recognizes Northwest Arkansas high schools

Northwest Arkansas claimed the top three spots and six of the top 10 in this year's ranking of the state's public high schools by U.S. News & World Report.

The 2015 state list is similar to what the web-based publication reported last year. Haas Hall Academy, a Fayetteville charter school, took the top spot for the fourth consecutive year. Its national ranking dropped from No. 137 last year to No. 175. It ranked 51st in the nation among charter high schools.

Bentonville High School moved up a spot from No. 3 to No. 2 in the state, but its national ranking tumbled from 580 to 886. Rogers High School moved up from fourth to third in the state; nationally it fell from from 837 to 977. Heritage High School remained steady from last year's state list at No. 5, but also dropped on the national list from 885 to 1,221.

Arkansas Arts Academy in Rogers and Prairie Grove High School both cracked the publication's top 10 list for Arkansas for the first time.

This is the fourth year U.S. News has compiled a list of the top high schools. It's based on student performance on state-required tests; how the schools educated their "least-advantaged" students, including blacks, Hispanics and those from low-income backgrounds; and how well schools prepared students for college based on participation in and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

Haas Hall has finished No. 1 on the list every year.

"I think it's a validation of our academic programs, our faculty and engaged scholars," said Martin Schoppmeyer, Haas Hall's founder and superintendent.

Haas Hall is moving to a new site in Fayetteville and opening a second school on Southeast J Street in Bentonville this fall. Haas Hall originally opened in Farmington in 2004 with 13 students in grades 10 through 12. This fall it will serve more than 600 students combined at its Fayetteville and Bentonville sites in grades seven through 12.

"We've come a long way in a short period of time," Schoppmeyer said.

The Rogers School District is proud to see both of its high schools in the state's top five, said Robert Moore, assistant superintendent for secondary curriculum and instruction.

"That's a byproduct of more than just the high schools. It's a byproduct of the entire school system," Moore said. "That's a point of pride for every teacher in Rogers Public Schools, because they all had a part to play in those rankings."

Several publications rank the nation's high schools using different criteria. The U.S. News ranking "just gives us another way to see how we stack up against the other schools in our state," Moore said.

Moore said he wasn't certain what contributed to the drop the Northwest Arkansas schools experienced on the national list. Performances on Advanced Placement exams might have hurt Rogers' schools this year, he said.

Arkansas Arts Academy, a charter school in Rogers, placed sixth on the state list. Mary Ley, chief executive officer, said she was "thrilled" by the news.

"We do have a quality, amazing school," Ley said. "We do believe the arts have an impact on academics, and this is more evidence of this."

U.S. News & World Report awards schools gold and silver medals based on how well each school is preparing students for college. Arkansas had one gold-medal school -- Haas Hall -- and 23 silver-medal schools. That means 8.5 percent of Arkansas' high schools received gold or silver medals. Maryland had the best such rate at 28.9 percent.

The former news magazine publisher issues numerous rankings, including those of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, nursing homes and more.

Dave Perozek can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWADaveP.

NW News on 05/13/2015