For the eighth year in a row, Bergenfield High School (BHS) has been recognized as one of our nation’s most challenging high schools by the Jay Mathews Challenge Index.

The 2019 Challenge Index places BHS at 945th in the nation and 44 th in New Jersey—landing the school in the top 4% in the U.S.

According to Bergenfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Tully, “Bergenfield High School’s consistent presence on this prestigious list is documentation that Bergenfield Public School District is attaining its mission by enabling the district to set even higher goals each new school year.”

Superintendent Tully stated, “Increasing student academic achievement has been our top priority. Now, it’s clear by objective measures that we are elevating college and career aspirations for all students and ensuring every student has the tools to not only meet, but exceed those aspirations. On behalf of the Bergenfield Board of Education, I congratulate our staff, students, and parents for a job well done! Achieving such a high ranking is certainly an accomplishment worth celebrating.”

Jay Mathews is an education writer and has been a columnist for The Washington Post and Newsweek for nearly 50 years. Since 1998, he has been publishing his  Challenge Index which ranks America’s most challenging high schools.

Jay Mathews Challenge Index is the only list that compares private and public schools. It ranks high schools by a simple ratio: the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests given at a school each year, divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year.