Newsweek rates Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School in Irondale, Ala., as the country's best public high school.
The magazine ranked schools by dividing the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by the number of graduating seniors.
That standard gave Florida five schools in the top 10 list. Florida also tied New York State with 19 schools in the top 100.
Contributing Editor Jay Matthews, who devised the ranking system, said he believes that using the standard is the best one to measure how well a high school challenges its students.
But the magazine acknowledged that its rankings have drawn criticism.
The other schools in the top 10 were: International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Mich, Stanton College Prep, Jacksonville, Fla., Eastside, Gainesville, Fla., H-B Woodlawn, Arlington, Va., Science/Engineering Magnet, Dallas, Texas, Paxon, Jacksonville, Fla., Pensacola in Florida, Raleigh Charter, Raleigh, N.C., and Hillsborough, Tampa, Fla.
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