C’view among top Ohio high schools

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

CONVOY — Crestview High School was listed among Ohio’s top 100 high schools for 2013 by U.S. News & World Report magazine.

The magazine partners with American Institutes for Research in developing ranking criteria for the nation’s public schools. The program looks at schools that not only serve their smartest “college-prep” students, but all students.

Crestview received a high ranking in this category for its large percentage of students (62) who take Advanced Placement (AP) college-level courses. A total of 17 percent of those students pass the AP exams.

The school received a silver medal from U.S. News and was ranked 59th among Ohio’s 752 public schools and 140 charter schools. Only 19 Ohio high schools earned gold medals.

Crestview High School Principal Mike Biro had made the announcement during the April meeting of the Crestview Local Board of Education on Monday, but said the news was not official at that time. The district was also ranked 1,245th among the 21,000 public schools ranked nationwide.

Crestview also scored high on math proficiency (93 percent proficient/7 not) and reading proficiency (96 percent proficient/4 percent not).

Lincolnview was not ranked in the report, but did receive a bronze medal for its math (90 percent proficient/10 percent not) and reading (96 percent proficient/4 percent not) proficiency scores. Lincolnview fell down in the college readiness area, with only 3 percent of students taking AP courses, although all 3 percent passed.

Van Wert was also not ranked and did not receive a medal, although it received a higher college readiness score than either Crestview or Lincolnview. A total of 39 percent of VWHS students take AP classes and 32 percent passed the AP test requirements to receive college credit. VWHS had lower math (85 percent proficient/15 percent not) and reading (87 percent proficient/13 percent not) proficiency scores than either of the other two county high schools.

Other area schools that did well in the U.S. News Ohio rankings included Columbus Grove (20th), Minster (27th), Lima Shawnee (38th), Kalida (60th), and Antwerp (68th).