8 local schools on national 'prep' list

WASHINGTON (WOOD) - Eight West Michigan high schools are ranked nationally when it comes to how well they effectively prepare their students for college.

The Washington Post's Jay Mathews conducted the research and has ranked Washington-area public schools since 1998. This is the first year the publication has expanded its Challenge Index to include high schools across the nation.

The ranking's formula is simple -- divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests that a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school's commitment to preparing average students for college.

There is also an Equity and Excellence rating, which is the percentage of all seniors who have had at least one score on an AP, IB or Cambridge test that would qualify them for college credit. The research also lists a Subs Lunch ranking, which is the percent of all students designated low income.

More than 1,900 schools are on the list, including 38 from Michigan (with national ranking) --

• Athens High School in Troy -- 1042
• Berkley High School in Berkley -- 1079
• Black River High School in Holland -- 155
• Bloomfield Hills Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills -- 448
• East Grand Rapids in Grand Rapids -- 1454
• East Lansing High School in East Lansing -- 1412
• Eisenhower Senior High School in Shelby Township -- 1771
• Ernest W. Seaholm High School in Birmingham -- 1027
• Farmington High School in Farmington -- 1391
• Forest Hills Central High School in Ada -- 1375
• Grand Blanc High School in Grand Blanc -- 1781
• Grosse Pointe North High School in Grosse Pointe Woods-- 937
• Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe Farms -- 509
• Harrison High School in Farmington Hills -- 1777
• Huron High School in Ann Arbor -- 1536
• Jenison High School in Jenison -- 1850
• Laer High School in Bloomfield Hills -- 709
• Lakeland High School in White Lake -- 1725
• Lowell High School in Lowell -- 1756
• Mona Shores High School in Muskegon -- 1471
• North Farmington High School in Farmington Hills -- 1145
• Novi High School in Novi -- 985
• Okemos High School in Okemos -- 770
• Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor -- 1419
• Portage Central High School in Portage -- 1404
  
• Portage Northern High School in Portage -- 1302
• Rochester High School in Rochester Hills -- 1967
• Saline High School in Saline -- 1032
• Thurston High School in Redford -- 1872
• Traverse City Central High School in Traverse City -- 1470
• Traverse City West High School in Traverse City -- 1491
• Troy High School in Troy -- 574
• Walled Lake Central High School in Walled Lake -- 1147
• Walled Lake Northern High School in Commerce -- 1350
• Walled Lake Western High School in Walled Lake-- 1936
• West Bloomfield High School in West Bloomfield -- 1273
• Winston Churchill High School in Livonia -- 1806
• Wylie E. Groves High School in Beverly Hills -- 1044