Dubuque Senior High School added a little silver to its school colors when U.S. News released its 2015 Best High Schools list.

Senior was awarded Silver Medal status in the listing, was ranked nationally and was ranked 11th among Iowa high schools in the listing.

“Our staff at Dubuque Senior High School is committed to helping all of our students be successful,” said Dan Johnson, principal at the school. “Our Ram Family, both staff and students, does a great job of working together to make our school a great place to get an education. Our goal is to always get better.”

According the U.S. News, the rankings “include data on more than 21,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were awarded gold, silver or bronze medals based on their performance on state assessments and how well they prepare students for college.” U.S. News & World Report teamed with North Carolina-based RTI International, a global nonprofit social science research firm, to produce the rankings.

“RTI implemented the U.S. News comprehensive rankings methodology, which is based on these key principles: that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show it is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators,” according the U.S. News.

“We are continually focused on providing students across the Dubuque Community School District with an educational experience that prepares them for a lifetime of success,” said Stan Rheingans, Superintendent of Schools. “This recognition, while only one of many indicators of success, reinforces the great work being done by the staff at Senior to create an environment in which students thrive and succeed.”