EDGAES — Newsweek named West St. John High School in Edgard as one of the top five high schools in the nation for its success preparing students for college.

The school was ranked fifth out of 500 schools on the publication’s 2015 Beating the Odds list, which recognizes schools closing the achievement gap.

West St. John High School Principal Claude Hill said it is a wonderful blessing to be the leader of a thriving high school.

“This honor adds to our motivation as we continue our motto this school year of ‘Grinding to Perfection,’” Hill said. “One of the driving forces is our school mission statement: 100 percent of West St. John High students will be accepted into college or prepared for a technical career.”

Hill attributes several factors, including direct instruction, small student-to-teacher ratios, tutoring opportunities, ACT mastery classes, data-driven instruction, dual enrollment and career technical classes to the school’s success at getting students prepared for college. He also cited a dedicated faculty committed to seeing each and every student succeed.

To rank the schools, Newsweek took into account a school’s performance on state standardized tests, enrollment data, graduation rates, advanced placement and college admission test scores and counselor-to-student ratios.

West St. John High School also received the Gold Star designation, which recognized schools where economically disadvantaged students performed better than the state average for all students in reading and mathematics.

This is the second year in a row West St. John High School has been recognized by Newsweek. In 2014, the school was ranked as the 50th school on the Beating the Odds list.