National high school report card puts Honesdale on top in Wayne County, top 16% nationally

Courtesy of Peter Becker of Tri-County Independent

In the days leading up to the resumption of classes for the 2025-26 school year, the Wayne Highlands school board heard that Honesdale High School was ranked in the top 16% nationwide for student performance and other criteria among public high schools. 

Assistant Principal Donald Cook announced that the school was placed by the U.S. News & World Report annual recognition of the nation’s best high schools.

“Big news today. We are excited and honored to share that Honesdale High School was recognized,” Cook told the board and fellow administrators on Aug. 19. He said that these rankings are based on several criteria, college readiness, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, the variety and depth of college-level course work available and graduation rates. 

Honesdale High School was ranked third of 31 high schools, in the top 10% within Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit (NEIU) 19 and Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 combined. There are 29 IUs in Pennsylvania. The organization is described on the NEIU 19 website as an “educational agency that supports the diverse needs of all learners by collaborating with families, educators and community partners to provide innovative leadership, programs and services.”

NEIU I9 covers school districts in Lackawanna, Susquehanna and Wayne counties and LIU I8 includes school districts in Luzerne and Wyoming counties. 

Statewide, Honesdale High School was rated in the top 17%, 123rd out of 741 high schools. Nationally, HHS ranked in the top 16%, Cook said. 

He thanked their teachers, staff, and Principal Peter Jordan for providing their students with a “second to none” education and opportunities. 

Below is a sampling of data extracted from the full U.S. News & World Report rankings online for high schools principally serving Wayne or Pike counties. The statewide graduation rate is 88%. 

College readiness index, the report states, is a weighted average on participation rates in the Advanced Placement (AP) exams and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams taken by students..

Honesdale High School (Wayne County) 

• 3,152nd nationally, 123rd statewide
• 692 students, served by 60 full-time teachers, 11:1 student-teacher ratio
• Took at least one AP exam, 16%; passed, 12%
• College readiness index: 13.2/100
• Graduation rate: 91%