Out of the top 1,300 public schools in the country, Newsweek named Temple High School the 1,122nd best public high school in the country, while Killeen High School finished with a ranking of 723.
The rankings were based on the number of students who have taken advanced placement and international baccalaureate tests. The number of students taking the advanced tests was divided into the total number of graduating seniors in the district to come up with an index number.
The results were provided using numbers from the 2007 graduating classes at the schools.
“The rankings have been quite the talk around here,” said KHS principal Michael Sibberson. “I think we’ve been making wonderful progress on our campus when it comes to the IB and AP programs.”
According to the rankings, Killeen had 12.8 percent of all graduating seniors at a school that had at least one passing grade on one AP or IB test.
“The teachers here have stayed after school and come in on weekends to help these kids,” Sibberson said. “It’s really been a team effort amongst our staff, the students and their parents.”
Sibberson said the list of schools that Killeen was ranked among was pretty eye opening for his staff.
“It’s like who’s who of schools,” Sibberson said. “There are some very prestigious names on that list - so we really feel honored.
“The atmosphere at this school has really shifted into a college-going one,” he said. “There are a number of kids taking these classes and tests who have found out that they have what it takes to further their education after they graduate from here.”
Sibberson said KHS has continuously added AP and IB classes to their curriculum over the last several years.
Last year, KHS had a ranking of 1,024, when 10.5 percent of their 2006 graduating seniors had passed an IB or AP test. KHS’s previous ranking high was 669 in the 2006 rankings, based upon 2005 graduation statistics.
THS actually dropped on the list compared to last year, where they had a ranking of 802. THS Principal Jason Bullock was unavailable for comment on Thursday.
According to this year’s rankings, THS had 17.7 percent of their graduating seniors pass at least one AP or IB tests in 2007, compared to their 2007 ranking when 27 percent of their 2006 seniors had past tests.
