By Jay Mathews

The Challenge Index is designed to recognize schools that challenge average students. The top-performing public magnet or charter schools in alphabetical order below were excluded from the Index list because, despite their exceptional quality, their standardized test scores indicate they have few or no average students. Non-neighborhood public schools with SAT or ACT averages above the highest averages for neighborhood schools nationally are placed here, what I call the Public Elites List.

Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts (Hot Springs, Ark.)

BASIS Chandler (Chandler, Ariz.) and BASIS Scottsdale (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Bergen County Academies (Hackensack, N.J.)

Biotechnology High School (Freehold, N.J.)

Bronx High School of Science (New York City)

Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics (Morehead, Ken.)

Davidson Academy (Reno, Nev.)

Early College at Guilford (Greenboro, N.C.)

Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science (Bowling Green, Ky.)

High Technology High School (Lincroft, N.J.)

Hunter College High School (New York, N.Y.)

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (Aurora, Ill.)

International Academy Okma (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)

International Community School (Kirkland, Wash.)

Liberal Arts and Science Academy (Austin, Tex.)

Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts (Natchitoches, La.)

Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies (Richmond, Va.)

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (Durham, N.C.)

Northside College Prep (Chicago, Ill.)

Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (Hartsville, S.C.)

Stuyvesant High School (New York, N.Y.)

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Fairfax County, Va.)

University of Illinois Laboratory High School (Urbana, Ill.)

Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (Chicago, Ill.)