•Kennedy is simply one of the best high schools in America! In the spring of 2012, Kennedy High School was named one of the best high schools in America by US News and World Report, by Newsweek, and by Jay Matthews of the Washington Post. Kennedy has been a part of these national evaluative lists nearly every year they have been published. Some of the lists have been published for eight years and Kennedy has been named each year.

•Kennedy has been named one of the top  1000 schools each of the eight years that  Jay Matthews has published a list, and has  made the list by U.S. News three of the four  times the magazine has generated the best  high schools list....full story

•In May, 2011 Newsweek magazine published a list of the top 500 high schools in the nation. ....full story

•Kennedy was named one of the best high schools in Iowa according to the Belin Blank Center at the University of Iowa. The ranking has been published for seven years and Kennedy has been on the list and in the top five schools in the state each year of the seven.

•Beyond national lists, Kennedy is at the  top locally, too. Our students have the  highest scores in the district on the Iowa  Assessments given in the spring of the  year. Our students take the most AP exams  and earn the highest average scores  proportionately of any school in Iowa. And  to top it off, our ACT scores are the best in  the district!.

•In May, 2011, Kennedy students took over 1000 AP exams, leading the District and the state in number of exams...full story

•Jay Matthews of the Washington Post  ranks top high schools based on the  AP index which is the ratio of AP exams  taken to the number of graduates  in the class. Kennedy is included in  Matthew’s top high schools and has  been each year he has published the  rankings

•Newsweek magazine publishes a list  of the top high schools in America.  The criteria include our graduation  rate, percent of graduates entering  college, average ACT scores, and AP  exam results. It’s tough criteria for a  large public high school and Kennedy  is among the best of the 27,000 public  schools in the country.

•US News and World report is well  known for their “Best” lists. While the  magazine did not publish the Best  High Schools list for a couple of years,  they returned with the rankings in  2012. Kennedy is ranked as one of  the best in the nation and one of the  best in Iowa. Criteria is based on a  complicated formula that includes  standardized test scores, the success  of underprivileged students on those  tests, and the success of students in AP  courses.

•Iowa’s Belin Blank Center ranks our  high schools annually and Kennedy  ranks in the top two among public  schools. Our school has been in the  top five every year the list has been  published.