Krum Middle School and Argyle High School ranked No. 18 and No. 12, respectively, on an organization’s lists of the best public middle and high schools in North Texas.

Children at Risk, a Houston nonprofit organization, researched and ranked schools throughout nine area counties in a report released this week.

The child advocacy group has ranked schools in the greater Houston area for four years, but this is the first year it’s branched out to rank schools in counties surrounding the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio areas, Children at Risk President Robert Sanborn said.

Dallas regional rankings were released Sunday, Sanborn said, and the organization anticipates that state rankings will be released at the end of the month.

According to Children at Risk, the rankings are a way to highlight schools’ successes, compare a school’s performance to its peers, and suggest areas for improvement.

“I want people to really care about what the quality of the schools are,” Sanborn said.

Reviewing the rankings, he said, could spark a public dialogue and encourage people to become more involved in the public education system.

The method used by Children at Risk examines 14 points of interest in determining a rank, including 2007 and 2008 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores, attendance rates and class sizes.

Other indicators used with high schools include the percentage of students taking  Advanced Placement, college-entrance and dual-credit exams; scores of those exams; enrollment and completion in advanced and dual-credit courses; graduation rates, class sizes and high school graduation plans.

Schools reaching the top of the lists tended to be magnet schools, schools with small theme-based programs, and campuses in small suburban and affluent areas, Sanborn said.

A total of 158 public high schools, 292 middle schools and 807 elementary schools were researched and ranked in the Dallas region. However, schools with missing data materials were excluded from the rankings.

School district superintendents and principals at the campuses in Krum and Argyle said they were both surprised and elated with their rankings.

Krum Middle School Principal Michelle Pieniazek said it’s refreshing to have her school’s efforts recognized. The school, staff and community have worked at setting high standards for students and providing programs that support student success.

“I think anytime you set the bar, students are going to try to succeed and reach those expectations,” Pieniazek said.

Both she and Jeff Butts, principal at Argyle High School, had been unaware of Children at Risk’s ranking system.

Butts said that while he was surprised to learn of the ranking, he wasn’t surprised at the educational performance of his students.

“I think we’ve got very talented students,” Butts said. “I think we’ve got a very supportive community and a very supportive staff that is committed to doing things the way they ought to be done.”

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com.

ON THE WEB

To view the complete listing of schools ranked throughout the region, visit www.childrenatrisk.org.

HOW LOCAL SCHOOLS FARED

Children at Risk ranked a total of 158 public high schools throughout nine counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Several Denton County high schools made the top 50:

Argyle High School — 12

Ponder High School — 46

Krum High School — 50

At the middle school level, 292 schools were ranked. Two middle schools were ranked in the top 50:

Krum Middle School — 18

Pilot Point Middle School — 41

NOTE: No elementary schools in the local coverage area ranked in the top 50.

SOURCE: Children at Risk Web site