Platteville High School is the 29th best public high school in Wisconsin, and the highest ranked high school in Southwest Wisconsin, according to the U.S. News 2020 Best High School Rankings.
U.S. News ranked the state’s 453 public high schools, including charter schools, as part of its review of more than 24,000 U.S. public high schools. The ranking methodology draws from data for the 2017–18 school year, using both state and federal datasets. In addition, the College Board and International Baccalaureate provided data on their respective college-prep programs, Advanced Placement and IB.
The six indicators of school quality used to calculate the rankings:
• College readiness, based on the proportions of 12th grade students who took and passed AP and/or IB exams.
• College curriculum breadth, based on proportions of 12th grade students who took and passed AP and/or IB exams in multiple content areas.
• Math and reading proficiency, based on student performance on state-required tests.
• Math and reading performance, based on whether performance on state assessments exceeded expectations given the school's proportion of underserved students.
• Underserved student performance, based on how black, Hispanic and low-income students performed on state assessments compared with those who are not underserved in the state.
• Graduation rates, based on the proportion of students who entered ninth grade in 2013–14 and graduated four years later.
The highest-ranked schools are those whose students excelled on state tests and performed beyond expectations; participated in and passed a variety of college-level exams; and graduated in high proportions.
Platteville’s ranking came from having 46 percent of students and 39 percent of students pass at least one AP exam, scoring 65 percent in ACT and ACT Aspire mathematics proficiency (the statewide average is 30 percent) and 49 percent in reading proficiency (the state average is 40 percent), and having a graduation rate of 95 percent. The ACT scores were ranked Well Above Expectations.
Platteville ranked 55th in the state in College Readiness Index, tied for 54th in Curriculum Breadth Index, 33rd in Math and Reading Proficiency, 33rd in Math and Reading Performance, and tied for 203rd in graduation rate.
Platteville is ranked 1,152nd nationally.
Iowa–Grant High School is ranked 155th in Wisconsin and 4,885th nationally. Iowa–Grant had 23 percent take and 21 percent pass at least one AP exam, with 41 percent math proficiency, 43 percent reading proficiency, and a 98 percent graduation rate. Iowa–Grant ranked 194th in College Readiness Index, 113th in College Curriculum Breadth Index, 176th in Math and Reading Proficiency, 192nd in Math and Reading Performance Rank, and tied for 87th in graduation rate.
Potosi High School is ranked 187th in Wisconsin and 6,002nd nationally. Potosi had 48 percent take and 3 percent pass at least one AP exam, with 55 percent math proficiency, 48 percent reading proficiency, and a 97 percent graduation rate. Potosi ranked 274th in College Readiness Index, tied for 354th in College Curriculum Breadth Index, tied for 88th in Math and Reading Proficiency, 75th in Math and Reading Performance, and tied for 101st in graduation rate.
Cuba City High School is ranked 193rd in Wisconsin and 6,132nd nationally. Cuba City had 39 percent take and 14 percent pass at least one AP exam, with 37 percent math proficiency, 32 percent reading proficiency, and a 97 percent graduation rate. Cuba City ranked 204th in College Readiness Index, 182nd in College Curriculum Breadth Index, 219th in math and reading proficiency, 245th in math and reading performance, and tied for 121st in graduation rate.
Belmont is ranked in the bottom quarter. Belmont had all 14 of its students who took an AP exam pass, with 19 percent math proficiency, 22 percent reading proficiency, and 90 percent graduation rate.
Among other area high schools, Mount Horeb is ranked 22nd, Fennimore is ranked 47th, Prairie du Chien is ranked 58th, New Glarus is ranked 71st, Mineral Point is ranked 80th, Viroqua is ranked 82nd, Dodgeville is ranked 83rd, Darlington is ranked 89th, Monroe is ranked 90th, River Valley is ranked 97th, Wisconsin Heights is ranked 103rd, Lancaster is ranked 124th, Richland Center is ranked 128th, Juda is ranked 129th, Kickapoo is ranked 145th, Wauzeka is ranked 209th, Seneca is ranked 230th, Hillsboro is ranked 248th, Highland is ranked 269th, Southwestern is ranked 271st, Boscobel is ranked 275th, River Ridge is ranked 277th, Westby is ranked 286th, Barneveld is ranked 288th, De Soto is ranked 292nd, North Crawford is ranked 299th, Benton is ranked 306th, Weston is ranked 337th, Albany is ranked 357th, Royall is ranked 366th, and Argyle, Black Hawk, Ithaca, Riverdale, Shullsburg are ranked in the bottom quarter.
The top 10 high schools were Whitefish Bay, Cedarburg, Reagan College Preparatory High in Milwaukee, Kohler, New Berlin Eisenhower, the Kettle Moraine High School of Health Sciences in Wales, Brookfield Central, Carmen High School of Science and Technology in Milwaukee, Mequon Homestead, and Waunakee.
The rankings are at https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/us-news-ranks-best-high-schools.
