Newsweek: Barlow is Connecticut's Sixth Best High School

is the sixth best high school in Connecticut and ranks 312th in the country, according to recently released ranking information compiled by Newsweek. 

With a 10.2 student-to-teacher ratio, a 97 percent graduation rate, a 94 percent college bound rate, average SAT scores of 1712 and an average of 1.3 college-level tests per graduating senior, Barlow ranks behind Wilton High School, Lyme-Old Lyme High School, Daniel Hand High School, Brookfield High School and Avon High School in Connecticut.

While Region 9 Board of Education Chairman Mark Lewis was happy for the accolades, he cautioned against using this type of criteria as a sole basis to judge a school.

"I think both 'rankings' are a bit artificial but am happy to see that Barlow was recognized again as one of the premier high schools in Connecticut and in the nation," Lewis wrote in an email to Patch. "This is a nice reward for the fine efforts of the teachers, staff, administrators and the students of Joel Barlow."

Rankings were determined by the following methodology: A school’s four-year, on-time graduation rate (25 percent of the score), percent of 2010 graduates who enrolled immediately in college (25 percent), number of college-level tests (AP, IB and AICE) taken, divided by the number of graduating seniors (25 percent), the average SAT and/or ACT score (10 percent), the average AP/IB/AICE exam score (10 percent) and the amount of AP/IB/AICE courses offered per graduate (5 percent).

Lewis said that at Barlow, only juniors and seniors are able to take AP exams, "which reduces the number compared to most other high schools that allow sophomores and sometimes freshmen to take the exams."

The rankings are based upon 1,100 eligible high schools, which were determined from survey responses of 10,000 high school across the country.

"The taxpayers of Easton and Redding should be very satisfied that their dollars are being well spent and parents can be confident that Joel Barlow truly is a School of Excellence," Lewis wrote.

Barlow on Monday.

Principal Tom McMorran could not be reached for comment.