Cyndi Loza

A national survey measuring student involvement in advanced courses ranked

11 Washoe County comprehensive public high schools among the top 5 percent in preparing students for college, school officials said Tuesday.

The list of Newsweek’s top 1,358 public high schools in America was compiled based on a challenge index, which takes the number of advanced placement or international baccalaureate tests taken by all students in 2007, divided by the number of graduating seniors.

International baccalaureate programs and advanced placement courses consist of a rigorous curriculum designed to prepare students for college.

Out of approximately 27,000 public high schools nationwide:

• Wooster finished at 371
• McQueen at 639
• Galena at 722
• Sparks at 725
• Reno at 781
• Incline Village at 856
• North Valleys at 936
• Hug at 949
• Damonte Ranch at 1,084
• Reed at 1,142
• Spanish Springs at 1,341

Students taking international baccalaureate and advanced placement classes in Washoe County are required to take year-end exams, according to a school board policy that Washoe County School District spokesman Steve Mulvenon said might be attributed to the high ranking.

“This push to get more students enrolled in AP or IB classes has been a priority of our school board for several years,” Mulvenon said. “And one of the reasons that so many of our schools show up in these national rankings is that we’re one of the largest school districts in the country that requires a student that enrolls in an AP class to take the AP exam.”

Thomas Brown, the principal at Galena High School, said it is no surprise Galena made it on the list, considering it has in the past. But, he said, the survey is still a good indicator of a part of the school’s overall success.

“It certainly doesn’t paint the whole picture of what a school’s about, but it certainly shows me we’re challenging a lot of our kids at Galena High School to take tough courses,” Brown said.