What does North Bergen High School’s Bronze ranking indicate?

North Bergen High School, Union City High School, and West New York’s Memorial High School all share something in common. They have all been awarded the national ranking of “Bronze” by USNews.com

“It was great to see North Bergen High School continue to be recognized for its Bronze Medal Award from U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s best high schools…” says North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco.

According to USNews.com, the third level – bronze distinction – includes schools that met state test performance and graduation rate criteria, but have not yet demonstrated high levels of measurable college readiness.

A bronze medal high school does not meet all the requirements of performance on college-level Advanced Placement exams or International Baccalaureate exams.

These schools have demonstrated commendable performance on their state tests and graduation rates, but did not perform well enough on the College Readiness Index to merit identification as a top-performing gold or silver medal high school. Either they have not provided as much access or any access to college-level AP or IB course work as their top-performing peers, or they offer an alternative program to AP or IB.

While AP and IB are the two most well-known programs in the country, there are schools that focus on providing students with access to alternative college-level programs, typically in the form of dual enrollment at local community colleges.