By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
Bayside's Benjamin N. Cardozo High School ranked among the best public high schools in the nation, according to a Newsweek magazine survey published June 2.
Cardozo placed 307th out of 737 on a nationwide list of top public high schools ranked, according to the Challenge Index, a system devised by Newsweek reporter Jay Mathews that divides the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams taken by all students at a school divided by the number of graduating seniors.
Most high schools in the United States offer some academically challenging AP and IB courses to prepare students for the standardized tests, which are administered in individual subjects and involve analytical and interpretive questions. Students who do well on the tests can earn exemptions from basic university courses.
“We are very pleased and not surprised,” said Cardozo Principal Rick Hallman of Cardozo's ranking. “We know we offer one of the largest advanced placement programs in the country.”
Hallman said Cardozo offered AP exams in 19 subjects. The school's AP course offerings range from calculus, physics and biology to French, Spanish literature and U.S. history.
Hallman said 724 students out of 4,000 at Cardozo took a total of 1,233 AP exams last year.
“It's very important to the school to have an academic program of that caliber,” said Hallman.
Several area high schools also made Newsweek's list. Jericho High School ranked fifth and Manhasset High School came in 11th place, while Great Neck South and Great Neck North high schools came in 17th and 26th place, respectively.
New York City schools did not do as well overall as Long Island schools. The only city high schools to make the list besides Cardozo were Port Richmond and Susan E. Wagner in Staten Island, and Edward R. Murrow in Brooklyn.
Specialized high schools for gifted students, such as Townsend Harris and Stuyvesant high schools, were not included in the survey as it was intended to measure advanced placement study among average high schoolers.
The Newsweek list was topped by the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a 500-student school that specializes in preparing students for the International Baccalaureate exam.
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
