![Scottsdale, Arizona](https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/583e01e2e02ba71c008b6be6-889/shutterstock456045109.jpg)
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It's the first time the school has ranked No. 1 on the list.
BASIS Scottsdale is a 5th through 12th grade charter school with 754 students. It's the first time the school has ranked No. 1 on the list.
Part of a larger network of charters - schools that are publicly funded but privately run - BASIS Scottsdale has a 100% graduation rate for students. It also places a high focus on college readiness, $4. The average number of AP exams per student is 11.5, and the average score is a 3.78 out of 5.
Ninety-six percent of students at the school are white or Asian, a figure likely dismaying to public-school advocates.
It was one of the issues that Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public
"The proportional over-enrollment of Asian-American students and under-enrollment of Latino students in BASIS charter schools is startling," $4
Burris looked at the 16 BASIS charter schools in Arizona and noted that 32% of students during the 2015-16 school year were Asian. Statewide they only constitute 3% of the population. And while only 10% of student at the school are Latino, they constitute 45% of the population in the state.
Still, Burris agrees that the schools provide students with "a challenging education."
That fact shines through on the US News' list. $4