Wootton High School Among Nation's Best in Math, Science

has been ranked as among the nation’s best high schools in math and science by the U.S. News and World Report.

Six Montgomery County high schools made the list of 208 “Best High Schools for Math and Science” published by U.S. News and World Report on Sept. 27, according to a Montgomery County Public Schools release.

Wootton math resource teacher Chris Tucker said the ranking positively recognizes the school's and the students' efforts.

"I believe that the ranking based upon both participation and performance shows that the students in the Wootton community have many excellent opportunities to further their education, but they also exhibit the motivation to follow through and succeed when they make those choices," he said.

The Montgomery County high schools that were listed are: 

• Winston Churchill (65th)
• Thomas S. Wootton (tied for 68th)
• Richard Montgomery (tied for 71st)
• Walt Whitman (89th)
• Walter Johnson (tied for 133rd)
• Montgomery Blair (154th)

These six schools are the only Maryland schools to make the list.

To be considered for the ranking, schools first had to qualify for the Gold, Silver and Honorable Mention ranking of the U.S. News "Best High Schools" list published in December 2009. Nearly 600 high schools were eligible to be ranked using data from students who graduated in 2008.

The schools were then scored based on student participation and performance in math and science Advanced Placement exams. According to the report, Wootton has an 85.9 percent AP participation rate. Of those participants, 85.7 percent pass the exams.