U.S. News and World Report magazine has named International Community School (ICS), a Lake Washington School District Choice school located in Kirkland, number 24 out of the top 100 high schools in the nation.

In their annual Best High Schools rating, they gave ICS a gold ranking. Redmond High School (RHS) received a silver ranking.

Rankings are based on the College Readiness Index, a measure of the degree to which students master some college-level material, using a weighted average based 25 percent on the Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) participation rates and 75 percent on the quality-adjusted AP and/or IB participation rates.

Schools that received a gold rating ranked in the top 100 nationally in the College Readiness Index and silver-ranked schools had a college readiness index of at least 20, but did not rank in the top 100 nationally. According to this report, ICS had a College Readiness Index of 87.5 and RHS had a College Readiness Index of 33.6.

This is the second year that ICS has been recognized in the top 100 schools. Last year, it was number 17 and was the highest-rated school in the state of Washington.

“It is an honor for our school to be recognized as one of the best in America,” said ICS Principal Cindy Duenas. “It truly is a reflection on the students and staff at our school that we are once again ranked in the top 100 schools in the country.”

RHS Principal Jane Todd stated, “We are so proud to be recognized with a silver ranking. Our students and staff strive to reach high standards every day and this recognition helps to support those efforts.”

Lake Washington School District Superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball remarked, “I am consistently impressed by the hard work of our students, staff and parents in schools throughout the district. It is great to see the hard work of two of our schools recognized in this way.”

ICS was one of only four schools to receive a gold ranking in King County. RHS was one of only six schools in King County to receive a silver ranking.

As a Choice school, ICS draws students from throughout the district and serves grades seven through 12. Entry is by lottery.