page_title: Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans)
section_title: Academics
hierarchical_section_title: Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans) / Academics
caption_attribution_description: This statue of Benjamin Franklin, commissioned in 1844 and created by sculptor Herman Powers, stands in the atrium of en:Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans, Louisiana)
context_page_description: Benjamin Franklin High School is a charter high school and a magnet high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. Commonly nicknamed "Franklin" or "Ben Franklin", the school was founded in 1957 as a school for gifted children. In 1990, it moved to its current location on the campus of the University of New Orleans in the Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks neighborhood of Orleans Parish, near Lake Pontchartrain. The school was damaged by several feet of flood water due to Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005, and efforts to reopen the school were covered by nationwide news agencies. Although the school is part of the Orleans Parish School Board, it operates as a charter school and is not administered directly by the agency.
  Ben Franklin has a selective admissions process, and according to CBS News is a "magnet for the city's smart and motivated students." Andrew Vanacore, of The Times Picayune, wrote in 2013 that Franklin was "top-notch". It has been named a Blue Ribbon School four times by the U.S. Department of Education, and was ranked 16 on the 2009 "America's Best High Schools" list by U.S. News & World Report.
context_section_description: Ben Franklin features a college-preparatory curriculum and an Advanced Placement (AP) Program.  Students are required to complete a minimum of 24 academic units that includes 4 in English, 3 in foreign language, 4 in mathematics, 4 in science, 4 in social science, 2 in electives, 1.5 in physical education, .5 in health, and starting with the class of 2012, 1 credit in the arts.  As of 2008, the school offers 20 AP courses for students to earn college credit.  A selection of elective courses are offered, including studio art, creative writing, music appreciation, and theater.  The foreign language offerings are French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, and Latin. Students may also enroll concurrently at local universities and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). The school is within walking distance of the UNO library, and students can obtain library cards through a "special borrowers" program.
  According to CBS News, Ben Franklin is "one of the best public high schools in the country — a magnet for the city's smart and motivated students." Approximately 99.5% of each graduating class enters a four-year college. Of the 162 students in the class of 2006, 28 were National Merit Semifinalists, 7 were National Achievement Finalists, and 3 were Hispanic Scholars. The class of 2008 produced 17 National Achievement Semifinalists, the most of any school in the United States. For the class of 2005, the mean SAT Verbal score was 645, and the mean SAT Math score was 636. The mean ACT composite score was 27.2. One hundred percent of Franklin students passed the Louisiana Graduate Exit Examination (GEE) in Spring 2006, with a significant number achieving Advanced and Mastery level. In recent years, Ben Franklin has produced a Morehead-Cain Scholar, a Jefferson Scholar, and many Questbridge Scholars.
  In the fall of 2005, Ben Franklin was one of three high schools given a five star rating (the highest possible) by the Louisiana Department of Education, based on its School Performance Score (SPS).  The SPS is based on test scores from LEAP/GEE subject area tests in addition to "The Iowa Tests" results and attendance/dropout data. The following table displays the three schools, along with their respective SPS in 2005.
  In fall 2008, the Louisiana Department of Education rated schools in Orleans Parish for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. With an SPS of 165.2, Ben Franklin again had the highest performance score in the state.
  Benjamin Franklin High School was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 1989, 2003, 2009, and 2015.  It has been ranked by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 50 public schools in the U.S. with regards to student test scores and advanced placement programs.  Ben Franklin was listed as one of the elite public schools in the country by Newsweek in 2006 and 2007.  In 2008 and 2009, Franklin was no longer listed as a "public elite" and instead ranked numbers 35 and 52, respectively, on the complete Newsweek lists of "America's Top Public High Schools."  Ben Franklin was also ranked 16 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report on its 2009 "America's Best High Schools" list and was one of its featured stories.  Additionally, 2 art and 12 academic Presidential Scholars have been selected from the school as of 2007. The class of 2014 produced twenty-five National Merit Semi-finalists, fifteen National Achievement Semi-Finalists,  three National Hispanic Scholars and fifteen National Merit Commended Scholars. 17 Benjamin Franklin seniors named Finalists in the 2014 Competition for National Merit Scholarships.
caption: A marble statue of Benjamin Franklin stands in the atrium. The statue was commissioned in 1844 and has been with the school since 1959.[38]
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