Binghamton High School again ranked among nation's best

For the eighth consecutive year, Binghamton High School has made the list of the nation's most rigorous high schools.

In the annual "High School Challenge" - whose ratings are published by Newsweek magazine and the Washington Post - Binghamton ranked 767 out of 1,500 schools nationally. The ranking placed Binghamton 73rd in the state and the only school in Broome, Tioga or Chenango counties to make the list this year.

In a recent news article on the subject, High School Principal Albert Penna credited the district's IB and AP faculty and students for the successful ranking, noting, "The kids work very hard. These are very difficult exams."

The Challenge Index was developed in the 1990s by the Washington Post. It divides the total number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or other college-level tests given at a school and by the number of graduating seniors. Binghamton offers 17 IB courses and four AP courses.

Binghamton was the first high school in the region and the third in the state to offer IB courses back in 1996. Now, 70 schools in New York offer the program. In the 2010-2011 school year, Binghamton had 347 students enrolled in at least one IB course and 169 in AP. The school administered 220 AP exams and 451 IB exams. This year, 53 students are going for the full IB diploma.