Published On: April 30th, 2017By

5 Aldine ISD Campuses Earn Recognition in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 ‘Best High School’ Rankings

One AISD campus, ranked a top school in Texas, is among the 2.4% in the nation to earn a Gold medal.
PSAT-2017-Victory-Early-College-High-School-Hispanic-Scholar-Recognition-Program-Stephen-Garcia-1

Stephen García from Victory Early College HS is a 2017 National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) Scholar. Universities use the College Board’s NHRP program to identify academically exceptional students. Scholars are among the top 2.5 percent of Hispanic/Latino PSAT/NMSQT test takers.


U.S. News & World Report recently released the Best High School rankings. Each year, the media company recognizes schools that prepare students for the future.

In Aldine ISD, Victory Early College High School received a Gold medal. In the national ranking, Victory ECHS came in at #112, while in the state ranking the campus ranked 21st.

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Victory Early College HS

Four other AISD campuses medaled. Carver High School received a Silver medal. Aldine, MacArthur and Nimitz Ninth Grade Schools each earned Bronze medals.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Each one of the campuses earned recognition in the 2016 rankings.

U.S. News started by reviewing 28,496 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Some of those schools had to be eliminated from consideration, mainly because they were too small to be analyzed. This reduced the count to 20,487, which is the total number of public high schools across the country that had high enough 12th-grade enrollment and/or sufficient enrollment in other grades during the 2014-2015 school year to be eligible for the rankings.

Schools were awarded gold, silver or bronze medals based on their performance on state assessments and how well they prepare students for college.

To produce the 2017 Best High Schools rankings, U.S. News & World Report teamed with North Carolina-based RTI International, a global nonprofit social science research firm.


A great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound.


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Diego Garza at Victory ECHS poses with his parents. The 2017 National JASON Argonaut will head to Canada during the summer. The one-week expedition will have Argos researching climate change.

A four-step process determined the Best High Schools. The first three steps ensured that the schools serve all students well, using their performance on the math and reading parts of their state proficiency tests and their graduation rates as the benchmarks. For those schools that made it past the first three steps, a fourth step assessed the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.

Academic and College-Readiness Indicators

STEP 1 — Students perform better than expected in their state.

STEP 2 — Disadvantaged students perform better than state average.

STEP 3 — Student graduation rates meet or exceed a national standard.

STEP 4 — Students are prepared for college-level coursework.

Across the country, only 2.4 percent of high schools (500 campuses) earned the gold medal distinction; 10.3 percent earned silver; 16.8 received bronze medals. A total of 70.5 percent did not medal.

U.S. News also produces separate charter and magnet rankings. Additionally, U.S. News ranks the Best High Schools for STEM. The acronym stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

There are 589 Texas schools in the 2017 U.S. News Best High Schools rankings.

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Keilah South from Carver HS advanced to the 2017 state science fair.

This is the fifth consecutive year that Victory Early College High School earns a Gold medal. Carver High School again received a Silver medal. The magnet school earned Silver in the 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013 rankings. Based on state exam performance, three ninth grade schools — Aldine, MacArthur and Nimitz — received Bronze medals.

AISD Campuses & Medals From U.S. News

2017

Gold — Victory Early College HS
Silver — Carver HS
Bronze — Aldine Ninth Grade School
Bronze — MacArthur Ninth Grade School
Bronze — Nimitz Ninth Grade School

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Gold — Victory Early College HS
Silver — Carver HS
Bronze — Aldine Ninth Grade School
Bronze — MacArthur Ninth Grade School
Bronze — Nimitz Ninth Grade School

2015

Gold — Victory Early College HS
Silver — Carver HS
Bronze — Aldine Ninth Grade School
Bronze — Aldine HS
Bronze — MacArthur HS

Victory-Early-College-High-School-USTEM-Robotics-Challenge-102014

Gold — Victory Early College HS
Silver — Carver HS
Bronze — Eisenhower HS

2013

Gold — Victory Early College HS
Silver — Aldine HS
Silver — Carver HS
Silver — MacArthur HS

Victory-Early-College-High-Newsweek-42012

Silver — Aldine HS
Silver — MacArthur HS
Bronze — Eisenhower HS
Bronze — Nimitz HS

2009

Silver — Carver HS
Bronze — MacArthur HS

2008

Bronze — Carver HS
Victory-Early-College-High-Newsweek-6Bronze — MacArthur HS

2007

Bronze — Carver HS

U.S. News began ranking high schools in 2007. In 2010 and 2011, the magazine did not rank U.S. campuses due to developing a new method.

The campuses are raking in the awards and recognition. The U.S. Department of Education honored Victory Early College HS with a National Blue Ribbon. Victory-Early-College-High-Newsweek-3Niche ranked Victory ECHS ranked in among the top 100 schools in the Houston area with the best teachers. The campus also ranked in Niche’s Top 100 of Best High Schools in the Houston area. The campus received an “A” to make the list of the top schools in the Houston area in the 2016 rankings. Victory also made the list in spring and fall of 2014. Victory ECHS also made Newsweek‘s ranking of the top 500 schools in the U.S.

Magnet Schools of America recognized Carver High School. In 2014, Carver earned a School of Distinction Award from the national organization. The magnet school also made Niche’s Best Magnet Schools 2016. Carver also made Niche’s 2014 rankings.

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Current students visit with Ike graduates. Each year, alumni dish about the college experience and represent their university during the Grads Give Back event.

Eisenhower High School made Niche’s 2016 Best Magnet School rankings.

MacArthur High School made Niche’s 2014 Top 100 of the Best High Schools in the Houston area.

The National Center for Urban School Transformation also recognized three campuses. In 2013, NCUST named Aldine Ninth Grade School, Aldine HS and MacArthur HS among the Best Urban Schools in America. MacArthur became the first AISD high school to become a two-time winner.

To read about the method used to rank schools, visit U.S. News.

About the Author: Leticia Fehling

Director of Internal Communications