FARMER CITY – Blue Ridge High School was among a number of area high schools to receive encouraging news recently.

The high school was named to the U.S. News & World Report America's Best High Schools list for 2010.

Out of 21,786 public high schools in 48 states and the District of Columbia, Blue Ridge High School ranked in the top 1,750 schools.

"It's really nice to see us get recognized for our hard work," said John Lawrence, Blue Ridge High School principal. "It's a big lift for the school."

He said it validated their test preparatory program and what teachers are doing to prepare students for college entrance exams. He pointed out that the recognition is a huge accomplishment for a small, rural school district in the middle of state budget problems.

In making its rankings, U.S. News & World Report analyzed 21,786 public high schools in the country. The magazine first looked at the reading and math scores for students taking the state's high school test – in Illinois, the Prairie State Achievement Exam. The magazine factored in the percentage of low-income students enrolled at a school, then identified schools that were performing better than statistically expected for the average student in the state.

Next, the magazine looked at whether the least-advantaged students – black, Hispanic and low-income – were performing better than average for similar students in the state, by comparing reading and math proficiency rates for those students with statewide results for those groups. It selected schools performing better than the state average.

For those schools making it past the first two steps, the magazine then looked at college readiness by using test data from Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, which offer college-level courses in high schools. The magazine looked at the participation rate, or the percentage of students taking the tests, and how well the students did on those tests.

"Being on this list demonstrates a commitment to college readiness and preparing all students for success beyond high school," said Jay Harnack, superintendent of Blue Ridge school district.

The top 100 schools with the highest college-readiness scores were awarded gold medals. The next 461 schools received silver medals, and 1,189 schools received bronze medals.

Schools received an honorable mention if they scored high enough on the college-readiness index to earn a gold medal but didn't fully meet the first two steps in the process.

Other central Illinois schools earning a bronze medal are:

– Bloomington High School.

– Charleston High School.

– Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School.

– Tri-Valley High School in Downs.

– Urbana High School.

– Watseka Community High School.

University Laboratory High School in Urbana received an honorable mention.

News-Gazette Correspondent Margo L. Dill contributed to this report.