The Friendswood Independent School District is again earning attention for its outstanding schools with the most recent focus on Friendswood High School, just ranked among Newsweek magazine’s list of America’s Best High Schools 2010.

Newsweek selects the best high schools in the country each year, based on the hard work of school staffs and their challenge to students with advanced placement college level course and tests. This year, just over 1,600 schools – only 6 percent of all public schools in the United States made the list.

Friendswood High School was developing its AP program less than 10 years ago, and today, according to the magazine, the percentage of students enrolled in the AP courses compared to the number of seniors, earned the school its coveted ranking.

The Friendswood Independent School District reports that what Newsweek did not measure that is equally important, is how well students perform on the exams.

An impressive 77.4 percent of the total of Friendswood High School AP test takers (831) earned a 3 or better on the AP exams, thus qualifying to place out of college level classes.

For the past two years, more than 75 percent of FHS students graduated from high school with at least 12 hours of college credit completed.

This latest ranking is a part of a long list of honors and awards earned by Friendswood Independent School District schools, students and teachers and one of the many reasons for the continued success of West Ranch. Friendswood High School and all schools in the Friendswood ISD which serves students in West Ranch are ranked Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency.