Barrington High School saw its ranking improve dramatically in the "Best High Schools" list created by U.S. News and World Report. 

This year, Barrington is ranked 316th on the list, which is 101 places better than last year's rank. The gold medal ranking is based on Barrington High School students' performance on state assessments, graduation rates, how disadvantaged students performed in comparison to the state average, and how well students are prepared for college. 

Officials from U.S. News and World Report analyzed data from nearly 29,000 public high schools across the country and included nearly 6,000 in its final rankings.

Barrington High School Principal Joe Hurley, who was recently named Principal of the Year in Rhode Island, said his school's gold medal ranking is the result of a district-wide effort. He praised the effort of teachers, administrators, students, and students' parents. He also mentioned the hard work of Paula Dillon (assistant superintendent curriculum and instruction) and superintendent Michael Messore.

"It starts in pre-kindergarten and continues on through," he said.

Barrington High School held the second-best rank among all Rhode Island high schools, as Providence's Classical High School was ranked 281st in the nation. Chariho High School was ranked third in Rhode Island and 2,151st in the nation.

One of the key factors used in building the rankings is student participation rate on Advanced Placement exams. At Barrington High School, the AP participation rate is 67 percent. 

Mr. Hurley said participation on AP exams has increased dramatically over the years. Back in 1999 and 2000, Barrington High School students took about 200 AP tests annually. Last year, more than 400 BHS students sat for approximately 700 AP exams — and passed 97 percent of them.

"That's staggering. It amazes me each year," said Mr. Hurley, adding that Barrington High School offers open enrollment on all AP exams. 

In addition, Barrington High School teachers work hard to ensure local students are prepared for the AP exams. Mr. Hurley said BHS teachers attend week-long Advanced Placement seminars in the summer months, learning how to best prepare students for the exams.

"There's an expectation that they're going to be prepared," said Mr. Hurley.

STEM rank

In addition to earning a gold medal for its national ranking, Barrington High School was also ranked 43rd in the country for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Barrington was the only high school in Rhode Island to make the list for top STEM schools.

"To determine the top science, technology, engineering and math schools, U.S. News looked at the top 500 public schools from our latest Best High Schools rankings, and then evaluated their students' participation and success in Advanced Placement science and math tests," stated a release from U.S. News and World Report.

Last year, Barrington High School was ranked 110th in STEM.

Mr. Hurley said he has seen more and more students showing interest in STEM subjects. He said courses such as architecture, pre-engineering, computer-aided design (CAD), forensics, anatomy and physiology and computer programming have grown in popularity over the years. He said that those classes often fill up quickly and students are placed on waiting lists. 

"Our kids are gravitating toward those programs," said Mr. Hurley. "We're continuing to increase those opportunities."

Mr. Hurley said that while he was pleased to learn Barrington High School had ranked so high on the U.S. News and World Report "Best High Schools" list, he is even happier to see local students truly excited about learning.

"They get excited about the learning and that is what propels them as they move forward," said Mr. Hurley. "Everyone thinks they're just interested in getting the A's. That's not it. They're excited about the learning."

In addition to the "Best High Schools" gold medal, Barrington High School is also boasting a number of other recent impressive accomplishments — the BHS Science Olympiad team qualified for nationals for the eighth straight time; the BHS Math Team won the state championship for the 17th time in the last 20 years; BHS freshman Joshua Guertler will compete in the science fair nationals; and Barrington High School's HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) team qualified for nationals in its first year of competition.

Barrington High School details

• AP participation rate: 67 percent

• College readiness index: 65.6

• AP exams passed: 97 percent

• Math proficiency: 54 percent

• Reading proficiency: 76 percent

• Graduation rate: 96 percent

• BHS rank: 316th nationally, 2nd in state

• BHS STEM rank: 43rd nationally, 1st in state