"Our size and ability to connect with students is a big plus. We make sure all our students are progressing. Not every student moves at the same pace. By and large, students here are exceeding the state norm."

Bonnewell said educators and students at Schroon are ecstatic about the ranking.

"We're proud of the achievement. It's great to be listed in the top 9 percent of high schools nationally."

RANKING FORMULA

Ticonderoga has 980 students in grades K through 12, while Schroon has 280.

The formula used in the survey was produced in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 data research and analysis business run by Standard & Poor's, and included a three-step analysis.

According to the magazine, the study "is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all its students well, not just those who are bound for college, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes that show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators."

The survey says the top school in the nation is Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va.

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com