Eight Montgomery County Public Schools high schools have been ranked by Newsweek magazine among the top schools in the nation in the number of Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) tests taken by students.

In its March 13 issue, Newsweek noted that challenging students by encouraging them to take rigorous high school courses produces students who can succeed later in college. Of the 472 top ranked schools listed, 12 were from Maryland, with the majority clustered in Montgomery County.

Newsweek ranked public schools according to a ratio devised by dividing the number of AP or IB tests taken by all students at a school in 1999 by the number of graduating seniors.

The top MCPS high schools, along with each school's ranking in the list and its ratio, are:

24 Richard Montgomery HS -- 2.494

115 Walt Whitman HS -- 1.721

137 Thomas S. Wootton HS -- 1.643

168 Winston Churchill HS -- 1.552

189 Walter Johnson HS -- 1.489

247 Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS -- 1.348

283 Montgomery Blair HS -- 1.277

454 Quince Orchard HS -- 1.023 Other Maryland schools in the group were:

194 Dulaney High School in Timonium -- 1.470

284 Centennial High School in Ellicott City -- 1.274

354 Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt -- 1.151

466 Urbana High School in Ijamsville -- 1.010