PWCS high schools make top 10 percent of “Most Challenging” in USA

Osbourn Park and Patriot lead all 11 Prince William County high schools in the top ranks of the Washington Post 2016 America’s Most Challenging High Schools list, ranking among the nation’s top three percent.

The analysis identifies the most challenging schools by dividing the number of tough Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge exams given at each by the size the school’s graduating class.

Only ten percent of the nation’s 22,000 schools make the newspaper’s list of the “most challenging,” compiling a “challenge index” of 1.00 or better. All PWCS high schools made the cut, with many exceeding the required mark several times over. On average, Osbourn Park and Patriot High School students take challenging college courses and their associated tests at more than three times the rate that the Washington Post uses to indicate a “challenging” high school.

Here are the rankings:
Osbourn Park, 477; Patriot, 645; Hylton, 810; Woodbridge, 846; Battlefield, 937; Forest Park, 1068; Brentsville, 1178; Potomac, 1186; Gar-Field, 1577; Freedom,1896; Stonewall, 1931.