Barron Collier High School takes the field to take on Immokalee High School at Barron Collier on Friday, September 11, 2015. (Scott McIntyre/Staff)

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By Melhor Leonor of the Naples Daily News

Barron Collier High and Fort Myers High are ranked among the top 1,000 high schools in the country, according to a list of the nation's top performing public high schools released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.

Stacked against the top 2,673 high schools in the country, Barron Collier ranked 608th. It ranked 40th in the state, among the 149 Florida high schools to make the rankings.

Just below, Fort Myers High ranked 669th in the country, and 47th in the state.

A school's place on the list is based on its performance on state assessments, the performance of its minority and low-income students, and its students' performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

In Collier County, five other high schools were ranked in the list of 2,673 schools. Lorenzo Walker High, Naples High, Palmetto Ridge High, came in at 1,264, 1,846, 1,986, respectively.

Golden Gate High ranked 2,149th, and Lely High ranked 2,224th.

Last year's ranking was more favorable to Collier County high schools: three of its 8 traditional public high schools made the top 1,000. Naples High dropped precipitously from 883rd in the country to 1,846th. Gulf Coast High, which ranked 953rd last year was absent from Tuesday's rankings.

The news magazine largely recognized for its college and university rankings has been diving into high schools since 2009, scanning data on roughly 21,000 schools nationwide.

States also are ranked based on their schools' performance. Florida placed 4th in the nation, below Maryland, Connecticut and California. Researchers only looked at 696 Florida public high schools in a state of over 1,500.

States are not stacked up against each other based on state test performance since most states administer different tests. Rather, researchers take the top schools in every state and then use nationally administered exams — AP and IB exams — to compare schools across state lines.

U.S. News and World Report partnered with North Carolina-based research firm RTI International to produce the rankings, which are based on 2012-2013 test data.

Read last year's story here.