Meanwhile, the Washington Post's ranking of the nation's 'Most Challenging High Schools' lists GLCPS among the top high schools in the nation and in the top 50 schools in Massachusetts.
GLCPS is the only area school to be recognized on either list.
"These national rankings demonstrate the dedication and commitment of GLCPS as a 5-12 school," said Stephen Furtado, Sr, executive director of the school. "It begins when students arrive in 5th grade and continues throughout their years until they graduate from high school."
The US News & World Report recognizes GLCPS as a silver medalist in the nationwide ranking of high schools. GLCPS is ranked nationally at 1,709th which is in the top five percent of public high schools included in the report. The first 500 schools listed in the report were classified as 'gold' medal schools. Schools ranked 501 through 2,027 were classified as 'silver' medal schools. An additional 3,990 schools were awarded bronze medals.
According to the report's rating system, GLCPS is 59th in the ranking of high schools in Massachusetts, the 8th highest ranked charter high school in Massachusetts, and the 221st best charter high school in the nation.
The U.S. News rankings include data on more than 22,000 public schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Using data from the 2015-16 school year, the magazine based its annual ranking on three criteria:
- Whether student performance on standardized reading and math tests (MCAS) was statistically better than the average statewide scores
- Whether the school's least-advantaged students – black, Hispanic and low-income – were performing better than average for similar students in the state
- Which schools produced the best college-level achievement for the highest percentages of their students
You can find out more about the report and its findings by visiting the following website:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings
GLCPS's rank as one of the Most Challenging High Schools in the nation improved, according to another survey of USA high schools by the Washington Post, to 1,052. Only 12% of high schools in the nation are considered among the most challenging. The Washington Post list, spearheaded by Washington Post education columnist Jay Matthews in 1998, is based on different criteria than that used by US News & World Report. According to The Washington Post it uses the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given at a school each year and divides it by the number of seniors who graduate in May or June.
You can learn more about the Washington Post research by visiting the following website:
"I attribute our successes to the culture of Global Learning," said Dr. Furtado, the school's executive director. " We all know every student's name. We know their families and their families know us. Everybody connected to the school is part of the GLCPS family. We all support one another."
GLCPS is a tuition-free public charter school that serves students in grades 5-12 throughout the city of New Bedford. GLCPS offers a personalized, challenging, college preparatory learning environment in which students are encouraged to realize their full potential, both academically and personally. For more information, visit: www.glcps.org and the Global Learning Charter Public School Facebook page.