The current issue of Newsweek includes the magazine's annual list of "America's best high schools." And the schools that are on that list have been quick to tout themselves as, well, America's best.

But, as even the study's authors acknowledge, the methodology behind the rankings can be a bit precarious. The rankings measure how many students at a school are taking college-level exams from Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge, presumably indicating the number of students who can handle college-level material. But taking exams doesn't mean passing exams. If a school had all its kids taking A.P. tests, and none of its kids passing, it could still be ranked number one.

Also curious: The magazine, which published the top 100 schools in its print issue and the top 1,200 online, lists whether the schools have made "adequate yearly progress" on the annual standardized tests required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. And some 20 percent of the top 100 did not. So a school could make the list while simultaneously facing government sanctions for low performance. I know, many schools fail to make AYP based on the scores of a handful of special education students. But the point is, which ranking system is the public to believe? If any at all?

Baltimore City College -- which administers lots of I.B. exams as part of an I.B. program -- was ranked the nation's 246th best high school. Rival Polytechnic Institute, which routinely outscores City on standardized tests, was No. 1,100.

The only Maryland jurisdiction with schools in the top 100 was Montgomery County, where five schools made the grade, and every eligible school in the district made the bigger list. The press release is on the school system's Web site.

In Baltimore County, there was great fanfare two years ago when Pikesville High made the top 100. (It was No. 99.) This year, officials didn't dwell on the fact that Pikesville had fallen to No. 274: Ten county schools have made it in the top 1,200, up from seven in 2005.