All three of Olentangy’s high schools are among the the best in central Ohio, the state and the nation, according to new rankings issued by U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Post.
Both publications list Olentangy High School in Lewis Center as the top-ranked of the district’s three high schools. U.S. News ranked Olentangy as number two in central Ohio, with Bexley High School at number one. The Post ranked Olentangy as number three in central Ohio, behind top-ranked Dublin Jerome and Columbus Alternative.
U.S. News had Liberty High School in Powell ranked third among central Ohio schools, while Orange High School in Lewis Center was ranked fourth. The Post has Liberty ranked sixth in central Ohio, while Orange is ranked eighth.
Statewide, Olentangy was ranked the number five high school by U.S. News; Liberty was ranked number seven; and Orange was number 10. The Post had Olentangy ranked number 10; Liberty at 16; and Orange at 19.
Nationally, the three high schools were among the top 2.5 percent — Olentangy was number 228 among high schools, according to U.S. News; Liberty was at 253 and Orange was at 329. The Post also said the high schools were in the top 2.5 percent nationally, ranking Olentangy at 350, Liberty at 402 and Orange at 518.
The U.S. News rankings are based on the 2014 graduating class, using student-to-teacher ratios, and a college-readiness index. The index was determined by the percentage of seniors who took and passed Advanced Placement exams.
The U.S. News site said the student-teacher ratio for Olentangy was 18:1, or 1,456 students to 83 teachers, near the Ohio average; and a college-readiness score of 67.6, with 83 percent of students tested and 62 percent passed. Liberty had a 20:1 ratio, or 1,762 students to 87 teachers, greater than average; and a 66.4 score, with 77 percent tested and 63 percent passed. Orange had a 17:1 ratio, or 1,033 students to 59 teachers, near average; and a 61.5 score, with 75 percent tested and 58 percent passed.
“America’s Most Challenging High Schools” was determined by the Post from the 2015 graduating class. The rankings were based on an index that divided the number of Advanced Placement tests by the number of seniors who graduated.
The Post’s website said Olentangy had an index of 4.003, with an average ACT-test score of 25.2, and an average SAT-test score of 1687; Liberty was 3.775, with an ACT score of 25, and SAT score of 1724; and Orange was 3.426, ACT of 23.7, and SAT of 1667.
In recent years, the district has routinely been ranked highly by the two publications.
“It is always gratifying when hard work is recognized and these rankings are a recognition of the work being done by our staff and students, not just at the high school level but at all grade levels,” said Superintendent Mark Raiff.
