BUFFALO, N.Y. — This is an unusual year for Business First’s academic ratings of Western New York’s school districts. Why? Because it brings just the second change at the top of the standings since 2005.
Williamsville, which ranked second a year ago, moves up in 2020 to first place, a position it last occupied in 2014.
The district that monopolized the No. 1 slot for the intervening span of 2015-2019, East Aurora, now sits in third place. No. 2 Clarence is sandwiched between them.
Here are the top 10 districts for this year:
- Williamsville (Erie County)
- Clarence (Erie County)
- East Aurora (Erie County)
- Orchard Park (Erie County)
- Starpoint (Niagara County)
- Iroquois (Erie County)
- Lewiston-Porter (Niagara County)
- Amherst (Erie County)
- Bemus Point (Chautauqua County)
- Hamburg (Erie County)
Business First’s ratings are based on the academic records of 96 public school districts in the eight-county region, fueled by four years of test and graduation data provided by the New York State Education Department. The rating formula has 200 components.
Each district’s rank depicts the collective performance of its public elementary, middle and high schools. (Two of the region’s 98 districts, Ripley and Wyoming, have been excluded because they do not operate high schools.)
The top-to-bottom academic standings can be seen on Buffalo Business First’s website.