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KE, KW Earn U.S. News & World Report 'Best Schools' Designation

Ken-Ton’s two high schools, Kenmore East and Kenmore West, were among the top high schools in the U.S. to earn the "Best High Schools" designation in the U.S. News & World Report's 2020 Best High Schools rankings out of nearly 18,000 schools evaluated.

Kenmore East High School and Kenmore West High School placed in the top 25th percentile of schools nationwide, outperforming more than three-quarters of the 17,790 high schools ranked in the U.S. Among New York State high schools, Kenmore West ranked 362 and Kenmore East ranked 368 out of a total of 1,342 high schools evaluated. Locally, both schools were counted among the top 25 schools out of 72 high schools in the greater Western New York region.

While many previous school ranking and rating methodologies have relied predominantly on New York State assessment data including math/ELA scores, the U.S. News & World Report rankings encompass a variety of metrics that capture key indicators of success including college readiness and rigorous college-level coursework. The rankings also encompass math and reading proficiency/performance, graduation rate, and the performance of underserved populations such as low-income students.

“A great high school educates all students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation,” said Robert Morse, chief data strategist, and Eric Brooks, senior data analyst, in an article explaining the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking methodology. “The highest ranked U.S. public schools … are those whose attendees demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math and reading state assessments, passed a diverse array of college-level exams and graduated in high proportions.”

Kenmore East and Kenmore West are two of only three high schools in Erie County, and four in the eight counties of Western New York, to offer the rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, in addition to an array of Advanced Placement (AP), Honors, Career & Technical Education (CTE), Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and advanced art and music offerings. Students’ success in the rigorous array of college-level programming offered at both high schools and the degree to which Kenmore East and Kenmore West graduating seniors are prepared for success in college factored heavily into the schools’ overall rankings.

Kenmore East and Kenmore West both received very high marks for College Readiness, a measure of how prepared students are for post-secondary success, and College Curriculum Breadth, a measure of rigorous college-level coursework. Both schools also scored high in Math and Reading Proficiency. Nationally, Kenmore West ranked in the top 20th percentile for college readiness, the top 22nd percentile for college curriculum breadth, and the top 37th percentile for Math and Reading Proficiency. Kenmore East ranked in the top 29th percentile for College Readiness, the top 33rd percentile for College Curriculum Breadth, and the top 29th percentile for Math and Reading Proficiency.

The rankings were conducted in coordination with RTI International with data collected from the U.S. Department of Education, the College Board, and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Nearly 18,000 high schools in the United States were evaluated in six indicators of school quality contributing to a school’s overall score:

  • College readiness (30 percent)
  • College curriculum breadth (10 percent)
  • Math and reading proficiency (20 percent)
  • Math and reading performance (20 percent)
  • Underserved student performance (10 percent)
  • Graduation rate (10 percent)

You can learn more about the ranking and rating methodology here:

For each school’s results can be found here:

Kenmore East High School:

Kenmore West High School: