A former principal of Achievement First Amistad High School in New Haven, Connecticut, Morgan Barth helped the program reach major milestones during his tenure. Morgan Barth was the principal when the school earned a top-20 spot in the U.S. News and World Report 2018 ranking.

The U.S. News and World ranking is based on six indicators:

– college readiness,

– college curriculum breadth,

– math and reading proficiency,

– math and reading performance,

– underserved student performance, and

– graduation rate.

College readiness is based on the number of AP or IB exams students pass. This number is divided by the total number of twelfth graders at the school.

In the college curriculum breadth, students who took and passed all four subject areas received full credit, while those who passed only two exams were given partial credit. The schools with the largest number of students who took and passed the tests scored higher.

Standardized test scores are used to measure a school’s math and reading performance. The school’s total assessment scores are compared within the state. A distribution of scores in the state is used to assess how the school fared against out-of-state schools.

Math and reading performance is assessed by looking at the demographic of the area and comparing math and reading assessments to make predictions. For example, one assessment looks at the number of students on free and subsidized lunches and then compares their performance in math and reading.

The underserved student assessment measures how low-income, black, and Hispanic students performed. This measure is compared to students who do not fall into any of these categories.

Finally, the report takes into account the number of students who graduate. This is believed to be an indicator of how well the school meets the needs of its students.