For the fourth year in a row, Sherman High School joined the ranks of more than 1,600 other high school on Newsweek magazine's America's Best High Schools list. Making the list puts SHS in a group with only 6 percent of all public schools in the United States.

"It's a testament to the quality of students in Sherman, encouragement from parents and the dedication of staff at every grade level," said Dr. Al Hambrick, SISD superintendent in a press release.

The high school was ranked 1,137 on the list that highlights each schools' efforts to encourage students to take advantage of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests. The tests give students experience in college-level course work and the opportunity to earn college credit.

"Former students contact me from college every fall and share their enthusiasm for the AP courses they completed at Sherman High School," said SHS AP Coordinator Diane Clark, in the release. "Some of the students have gained a year-and-a-half of college credit by the time they graduate from SHS."

This year, the annual list also added a new statistic to the rankings. The Equality and Excellence rate, while not used in the rankings, measures the percentage of graduating seniors who scored at least a 3 on at least one AP test. The calculation includes students who never took any AP courses. Sherman's score was 20.9 percent, while the average was 15.9 percent.

Hambrick said while the high school is the campus that receives this honor, the work begins earlier than freshman year.

"The process starts in the early grades through establishing a firm foundation and building through steady growth year after year," he said.