Newsweek Says Brookfield Central One of the Top Schools in U.S.

Newsweek's annual America's Best High Schools list ranks Brookfield Central High School as No. 174 of 500 top schools in 2011.

In all, 12 high schools in Wisconsin were included, with Brookfield Central in the Elmbrook School District receiving the highest ranking in the state. Brookfield East High School was not listed.

The New Berlin School District was the only Wisconsin school district with two high schools selected.

Newsweek changed its methodology, and cut its list from more than 1,600 schools in 2010 to 500 this year. In 2010, Brookfield Central and East made the list, respectively ranking at 378 and 850.

Newsweek said the rankings were created by calculating the following percentages: graduation rate (25 percent), college matriculation rate (25 percent), AP tests taken per graduate (25 percent), average SAT/ACT scores (10 percent), average AP/IB/AICE scores (10 percent), and AP courses offered (5 percent).

The other Wisconsin high schools selected as 2011 top schools are:

205: Homestead High School in Mequon

249: Gibraltar High School in Fish Creek

258: Cedarburg High School in Cedarburg

325: New Berlin West High School in New Berlin

358: Wauwatosa East High School in Wauwatosa

379: Shorewood High School in Shorewood

392: Kimberly High School in Kimberly

414: New Berlin Eisenhower High School in New Berlin

435: Pewaukee High School in Pewaukee

491: Waukesha West High School in Waukesha

493: Bay Port High School in Green Bay