By John Chambless

Staff Writer

Last week, Unionville High School was listed as the seventh best high school in Pennsylvania by US News and World Report, continuing a tradition of high rankings for the school.

The 2014 Best High Schools list, released on April 22, is drawn from analysis of more than 31,000 public high schools in every state. The published list has extensive data on more than 19,000 schools, including demographics, results on state and AP exams, and International Baccalaureate tests. In the final rankings, 500 high schools earned the magazine's gold medals, 1,519 took silver and 2,688 got bronze. 

The top school in the nation, according to US News and World Report, is the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas, Texas, which won the honor for the third year in a row. Nationwide, Unionville High School placed at 492, good enough to win a Gold Award from the publication.

The school's seventh-place ranking was earned with a student-to-teacher ratio of 15 to one, and AP test ranking of 47.2. That ranking indicates that 51 percent of the students get the AP test and 46 percent pass. In math, Unionville got a 3.7, meaning 92 percent of the students are proficient. In reading, the score is 3.6, meaning a 93 percent proficiency rate. All the test scores are above the Pennsylvania averages.

The list of Pennsylvania schools was topped by the Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia, which got an 87.4 rating in “college readiness,” meaning that 97 percent of students take AP tests and 84 percent passed. The math and reading scores were 3.9. The rest of the top 10 in Pennsylvania are: Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy in Erie, New Hope-Solebury High School in New Hope, Wyomissing Area Junior-Senior High School in Wyomissing, Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh, Unionville High School, Radnor High School in Radnor, Wissahickon Senior High School in Ambler, and Great Valley High School in Malvern.

Other Chester County schools on the Pennsylvania list included Downingtown High School East (No. 27), Downingtown High School West (No. 31) and Avon Grove High School (No. 37). Bayard Rustin High School in West Chester came in at No. 41.

The US News national list included 155 charter and magnet schools in the top 500 schools. These schools limit enrollment through a lottery or other application process.