Concord-Carlisle Lands Fourth Spot on BoMag's Best High Schools List

Even as state and local officials attempt to steer the CCHS builing project back on track from this summer's rocky road, the school itself continues to be highly regarded around the region. 

Concord-Carlisle Regional High School landed the No. 4 spot on Boston Magazine’s Best Schools of 2012 list. 

The regional magazine based its rankings on data collected in more than a dozen categories, including things like test scores, per pupil expenditures and the number of AP classes, sports, clubs and student-teacher ratio. 

CCHS comes in behind only Weston, Lexington and Dover-Sherborn, while Wellesely Senior High School rounds out the Top Five.

Breaking down the numbers a little further, Concord-Carlisle had the highest percentage of students achieving proficiency on AP exams, with 98.7 percent. Finishing the top five were Acton-Boxboro, Lincoln-Sudbury, Lexington High and Newton South, and all five checked in with a very respectable proficiency rate of 95 percent or greater.

According to BoMag, in determining the Best of Schools of 2012, the most weight was given to academics, including performance on MCAS, SATs, and AP exams. Graduation rates and the percentage of students who go to college were also considered, while this year the magazine “dialed back—slightly—the importance placed on student-teacher ratio and per-pupil spending, because while they do contribute to learning, recent studies show that they’re not educational silver bullets.” The number of sports and clubs offered are also considered.

So with that in mind, what do you think? Are you OK with Concord-Carlisle's rank as the fourth-best high school in and around Boston, or do you think this district is second-to-none? Let us know in the comment section below.