Newsweek Poll Names Plainview JFK Among Best

A national poll has ranked Plainview JFK High School among the best public high schools in the country.

Plainview came in No. 278 on a list of about 2,500 schools surveyed by Newsweek and The Daily Beast, according to a story released this week. That was 44th in New York State.

Nearby schools including Syosset High School (104) Herricks High School in New Hyde Park (177), Locust Valley High School (145) and Schreiber High School in Port Washington (264) shared similar honors with Plainview. Jericho came in at No. 32 nationwide.

The rankings are based upon a survey sent to some 5,000 schools nationwide, of which about half responded, according to the poll.

The Newsweek/Daily Beast rankings claim to identify the best 2,000 public high schools in the nation, defined as those proven to be "most effective in turning out college-ready grads."

The rankings are based on surveys submitted to the schools themselves and based on such measurements as graduation rates, college acceptance rates, SAT scores and the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses.

In Plainview's case, JFK has a 100 percent graduate rate last year with 97 percent of them college bound. The average SAT score, according to the poll, was 1663. Other Long Island schools had similar scores. A public school in Buffalo, N.Y., City Honors H.S., actually was rated first in the state and 22nd nationally.

The number one school nationally in the poll: Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Bowling Green, Kentucky, according to the poll.

See the Newsweek/Daily Beast results here.

See their methodology here: