Published: December 23, 2008 08:25 am      

Frankston, Slocum ISD among best schools

Two Anderson County high schools — Frankston High School and Slocum High School — recently were bestowed a top ranking on the U.S. News and World Report’s annual “best high schools” report.

The study, put together by U.S. News in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, deemed the two local campuses as bronze medal schools, placing them in the top 10 percent of the schools ranked.

The rankings were determined by analyzing academic and enrollment data from more than 21,000 public high schools to find the very best in the country. These top schools were placed into gold, silver, bronze or honorable mention categories.

In the state of Texas there were 10 gold, 22 silver, 119 bronze and three honorable mention schools.

“This is the second year for Slocum High School to be ranked as a bronze medal school,” Slocum Independent School District Superintendent Fred Fulton said in a recent interview. “Our teachers and students work very hard to achieve success and they are certainly to be praised for this one.”

According to information from U.S. News, over 21,069 public high schools in 48 states were analyzed using data from the 2006-07 school year to compile the report.

A three-step process determined the best high schools. The first two steps ensured that the schools serve all their students well, using state proficiency standards as the measuring benchmarks.

For those schools that made it past the first two steps, a third step assessed the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.

Frankston ISD Superintendent Austin Thacker was unavailable for comment.

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Mary Rainwater may be reached via e-mail at mrainwater@palestineherald.com

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On the Net:

U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools,

http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/texas