Three of the four schools in the Olentangy Local School District received top rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best High School rankings. Olentangy Liberty High School (OLHS) ranked the highest of the three, being slotted as the 10th best high school in the state. Olentangy Orange High School (OOHS) and Olentangy High School (OHS) finished 15th and 21st, respectively.
OLHS moved up two spots from last year’s rankings, which ranked the school as the 12th best in the state. OOHS and OHS fell from last year’s rankings, which listed them as the ninth and 15th best Ohio high schools, respectively.
Nationally, OLHS ranked 337th among the 17,245 schools included by U.S. News. OOHS and OHS ranked 422nd and 524th, respectively.
OLSD was the only Ohio district with three or more schools eligible to be ranked that had each school in the top 25 of the state. Due to Olentangy Berlin High School being in its first year, the school didn’t appear in the rankings.
Cincinnati Public Schools’ Walnut Hills High School received the top honor of being ranked as the best high school in the state, as it did in 2018. Wyoming High School joined Walnut Hills as the only two Ohio high schools to crack the national top 100 list.
High schools are evaluated in several methodologies to determine the rankings. College readiness, which looks at the proportions of students who have taken an AP exam and passed those exams, makes up the largest portion of the rankings at 30 percent.
Math and reading proficiency and performance make up 20 percent each, and graduation rate, underserved student performance, and college curriculum breadth each make up 10 percent.
OLHS received a 98.05 overall grade on a 100-point scale. The school’s AP participation rate is 75 percent, with 62 percent having passed at least one AP exam. Reading and math proficiency grade out at 92 and 84 percent.
OOHS’ 97.55 overall score includes a 72 percent AP participation rate and a 61 percent AP exam passing rate. The school’s reading and math proficiency scores are 87 and 74 percent. OOHS, with an overall score of 96.96, had an AP participation rate of 72 percent and a passing rate of 60 percent. Reading and math proficiencies scored at 86 and 72 percent.
As a district, OLSD averaged 64.1 percent in college readiness on a 100-point scale.
Bexley High School was the highest ranked central Ohio school for the second consecutive year, ranking fourth in the state. Other central Ohio schools to finish in the top 50 were Granville High School (12th), Dublin Jerome High School (13th), Upper Arlington (14th), Grandview Heights (18th), Columbus Alternative High School (25th), New Albany High School (27th), and Dublin Coffman High School (33rd).
In Delaware County, Big Walnut High School placed 93rd overall in the state with a graduation rate of 97 percent and a college readiness rating of 39.3 percent. Delaware Hayes High School ranked 141st in the state, with a college readiness score of 29.2 (graduation rate not available). Buckeye Valley High School scored a 26.7 in college readiness, with a 93 percent graduation rate, ranking 154th overall in the state.
To see the full rankings and breakdowns of each school, visit www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.