Shawnee Mission East is among the most challenging high schools in the state of Kansas, according to a new set of rankings from the Washington Post.
SM East came in at number five on the list of Kansas’s ten most challenging secondary education institutions. Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, a magnet school in Kansas City, Kan., took the top slot, followed by Blue Valley High School, Blue Valley North and Blue Valley Southwest.
All five Blue Valley high schools made the list. SM South made the list from the Shawnee Mission district, as well, coming in at number 10.
The rankings were derived from a formula that takes the number of college-level tests administered at a school divided by the number of high school graduates. The rankings also take into account the number of families that qualify for free and reduced lunch programs as well as how many graduates have taken and passed at least one college-level (Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate) test during their high school careers.
SM East has fared well in the Washington Post rankings over the years, never coming in below fifth in Kansas and being listed as high as number three back in 2013.
The Washington Post rankings contrasts the U.S. News and World Report rankings of Best High Schools that came out earlier this month, and which left all Shawnee Mission schools out of their top ten.
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