Woodinville High School Ranked 16th in State by U.S. News and World Report

Woodinville High School has been awarded a silver medal this year for U.S. News and World Report's 2013 ranking of the Best High Schools, released Tuesday. 

Woodinville is ranked 16th in Washington by U.S. News out of nearly 600 high schools in the state, and 772nd in the country of more than 21,000 high schools. Last year Woodinville ranked 21st in the state.

Inglemoor High School, which ranked 11th last year, ranked 35th in the state this year and 1270th nationally, earning a silver medal as well. Bothell High School, ranked 41st last year, was shut out of the rankings this year.

For its rankings, U.S. News collected data on more than 21,000 public high schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia. (Nebraska did not report enough data to be included in the rankings.) From its release:

U.S. News joined forces with the American Institutes for Research, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, to evaluate schools on overall student performance on state-mandated assessments, as well as how effectively schools educated their black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students. Performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams was then used to determine the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.

Schools were ranked within each state, as well as on a national stage, so families can see how their public high school stacked up against rivals within the community and across the country. In the national rankings, 500 schools earned gold medals, 1,790 were awarded silver and 2,515 took home bronze.

The top five high schools in Washington state, along with their national rankings, are:

See the full 2013 U.S. News Best High School rankings here.

What do you make of the rankings? Does it make a difference when choosing a high school for your child? Tell us in the comments.