The official web site of the Lowell Alumni Association

For the first time since Newsweek magazine began ranking America's "best" high schools in 1998, Lowell has cracked the list, earning the 26th spot. The rankings, developed by Washington Post writer Jay Matthews, are based upon his Challenge Index, which is calculated by dividing the total number of Advanced Placement exams administered at a school by the number of graduating seniors. The intent of this yardstick is to recognize those high schools that encourage a broad cross-section of their student body to challenge themselves with the demanding curriculum of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. The latest rankings, published in Newsweek's May 8th issue, are based upon data from the 2004-2005 school year, when Lowell students sat for a total of 2,726 AP exams, thus earning a Challenge Index score of 4.462. (Nationally, only 43 schools boast a Challenge Index score above four.)

Although Lowell's Advanced Placement program has long been one of the nation's finest and largest, Newsweek had previously barred Lowell - along with all other schools that admitted half of more of their students based upon academic merit - from its rankings. But this year, the magazine recognized that this rule had "penalized some inner-city magnet schools that had high Challenge Index ratings."

This year's rankings include a new element, dubbed the Equity and Excellence Index, reflecting the percentage of seniors who earn a passing grade (3 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5) on at least one Advanced Placement exam. Lowell is one of only five U.S. high schools ranked by Newsweek to break 90% on this measure.

Lowell is one of only two Bay Area high schools to make Newsweek's top 100 list this year (Palo Alto's Gunn High came in at #78) and one of only three California high schools in the top 30 - with the other two California schools having a combined enrollment less than one-fifth the size of Lowell's. Congratulations to all of Lowell's dedicated and talented students and teachers for this outstanding achievement! And congratulations also to San Francisco's George Washington High for placing #302 on the Newsweek list.