The Public Elites

NEWSWEEK excluded these high performers from the list of America's  Best High Schools because so many of their students score well above the average on the SAT and ACT.

Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts—Hot Springs, Ark.: Affiliated with the University of Arkansas

Bergen County Academies—Hackensack, N.J.: An amalgamate of seven specialized schools

Benjamin Franklin—New Orleans: Highly competitive school; doubled courseload in spring '06 to make up for lost semester after Katrina.

Bronx Science—New York: Ethnically and economically diverse; specializing in science and math.

Gretchen Whitney—Cerritos, Calif.:  Award-winning school with special emphasis on college admissions.

High Technology H.S.—Lincroft, N.J.:  Takes top students from over 55 N.J. districts.

Hunter College H.S.—New York: Highly competitive, affiliated with the City University of New York system.

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy—Aurora: State-run, 10th- to 12th-grade school that counts the founders of Netscape, PayPal and YouTube among its alumni.

Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts—Natchitoches: Two-year competitive school, adding a sophomore class in August.

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Govt. and Intl. Studies—Richmond, Va.:  Selective school that stresses the importance of leadership and cultural issues.

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics—Durham: In July will become a full constituent of the UNC system.

Northside College Preparatory School—Chicago: All courses taught at either the honors or Advanced Placement level.

Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics—Oklahoma City: Highly selective public boarding school that serves students from all 77 counties.

Pacific Collegiate School—Santa Cruz, Calif.: Emphasizes global awareness and foreign-
language proficiency.

Pine View School for the Gifted—Osprey, Fla.:  Admission based on IQ-test scores; selected students score in the top 2 to 3 percent of applicants from Sarasota County.

South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics—Hartsville: All students do a summer research internship.

Stuyvesant H.S.—New York: One of the most competitive public high schools in New York City; average student SAT score is above 1400.

Texas Academy of Math & Science—Denton: TAMS offers college-level coursework in a
residential high-school setting.

Thomas Jefferson H.S. for Science and Technology—Alexandria, Va.: Fairfax County businesses and schools work together on curriculum.

University H.S.—Tucson, Ariz.: An accelerated subschool within the larger Rincon High School.

University Laboratory H.S.—Urbana, Ill.:  Closely affiliated to the Univ. of Illinois.