Chelsea High School was recognized as being the 32nd ranked high school in the state, according to the U.S. News and World Report rankings released on April 23.

U.S. News and World Report has released their annual look at the 2024 Best High Schools rankings, which ranked nearly 17,660 out of more than 24,000 reviewed public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

There are 1,163 high schools in Michigan, according to U.S. News and World Report. 673 of them made the rankings this year.

Upon hearing the news about Chelsea, CHS Principal Nick Angel sent out a message to the school community, which said in part:

“This is only one way in which we measure success but this is even more impressive considering our school size (one of the smallest in the top 50). This recognition places CHS in the top 3 percent of high schools.”

The Sun Times News followed up with Angel.

“I am very proud of the students and staff at CHS,” he said. “These types of rankings/metrics are only part of how we measure success at Chelsea High School. Chelsea is a special place whose strengths reside in the education afforded to our students via a very talented staff. This is recognition of the entirety of the Chelsea Schools as the educators at North, South and Beach are a big part of the High School’s success.”

Enrollment for 9-12 at CHS is at 783 students. Dexter and Saline are 1,116 and 1,605 students.

Here’s a look at how U.S. News and World Report determines these rankings:

• College readiness, based on the proportion of 12th-grade students who took and earned a qualifying score on at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam (30% of ranking).
• State assessment proficiency, based on aggregated scores on state assessments that students may be required to pass for graduation (20%).
• State assessment performance, based on whether performance on state assessments exceeded expectations given the school’s proportion of underserved students (20%).
• Underserved student performance, based on how Black, Hispanic and low-income students performed on state assessments compared with those who are not underserved in the state (10%).
• College curriculum breadth, based on proportions of 12th-grade students who took and earned a qualifying score on AP and/or IB exams in multiple content areas (10%).
• Graduation rate, based on the proportion of students who entered ninth grade in 2018-2019 and graduated four years later (10%).