Seth Tooley has no problem talking up his alma mater -- The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Bowling Green, Ky.

“It’s not your average high school,” said Tooley, 22, a 2008 graduate of the academy, a public high school for juniors and seniors based at Western Kentucky University.

Tooley now studies science at Western Kentucky but also helps the Gatton Academy by answering telephone calls to the front office. “The students here are learning on a higher level, a ground-breaking level, and that makes all the difference," he told msnbc.com. "When they say students are working on the latest research with leading experts in the field, it's true.”

Editors at Newsweek & The Daily Beast agree, naming The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science as the best public high school in America.

The annual rankings by Newsweek & The Daily Beast highlight the 1,000 public high schools nationwide that have proven to be the most effective in turning out college-ready graduates.

The Top 15 are:
1. The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, Bowling Green, Ky. 
2. The School for the Talented and Gifted Magnet, Dallas
3. Basis Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Ariz.
4. School of Science and Engineering Magnet, Dallas
5. Basis Tucson, Tucson, Ariz.
6. Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, Birmingham, Ala.
7. Signature School, Evansville, Ind.
8. Stanton College Preparatory School, Jacksonville, Fla.
9. Suncoast Community, Riviera Beach, Fla.
10. Thomas Jefferson for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.
11. City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park, Buffalo, N.Y.
12. School for Advanced Studies, Miami 
13. Andrew Carnegie Vanguard, Houston
14. Uplift Education North Hills Preparatory School, Irving, Texas
15. Pine View School, Osprey, Fla.

For the complete list of 1,000 schools, and more educational insights, click here to go to thedailybeast.com/besthighschools.

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