Buffalo, NY (WBEN) For the 11th straight year, Nardin Academy is the top ranked high school in Business First's annual rankings.

Nardin has been No. 1 every year since the separate ratings of public and private schools were combined in 2007. It previously headed the list of private schools between 2002 and 2006.

A key factor in Nardin's dominance is its Regents diploma rate. 96.5 percent of last year's graduates earned Regents diplomas with advanced designations, which are awarded to students who pass at least eight Regents exams.

No other Western New York high school posted a rate better than 90 percent. The regional average for advanced diplomas in all public and private schools was 44.5 percent.

City Honors, which was third last year, ended up in second place this year, is highest combined rank since 2007.

Business First rates not only the overall academic records of high schools, but also their performances in four core subjects, based on test scores from 2008 to 2011, the latest figures available. Those four subjects are English, science, social studies and math.

TOP 100 HIGH SCHOOLS IN BUSINESS FIRST'S RANKINGS
(EACH SCHOOL IS FOLLOWED BY THE DISTRICT IN WHICH IT'S LOCATED; SEE BOTTOM
OF PAGE FOR ABBREVIATIONS)

1. Nardin Academy HS (Buffalo)
2. City Honors School (Buffalo)
3. Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart (Amherst)
4. Williamsville East HS (Williamsville)
5. East Aurora HS (East Aurora)
6. Williamsville North HS (Williamsville)
7. Clarence SHS (Clarence)
8. Christian Central Academy (Williamsville)
9. St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
10. Mount St. Mary Academy (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
11. Maple Grove JSHS (Bemus Point)
12. Lewiston-Porter SHS (Lewiston-Porter)
13. Williamsville South HS (Williamsville)
14. Orchard Park HS (Orchard Park)
15. Holy Angels Academy (Buffalo)
16. St. Francis HS (Frontier)
17. Notre Dame HS (Batavia)
18. St. Mary's HS (Lancaster)
19. Iroquois SHS (Iroquois)
20. Akron HS (Akron)
21. Immaculata Academy (Frontier)
22. Alden SHS (Alden)
23. West Seneca East SHS (West Seneca)
24. Lancaster HS (Lancaster)
25. Hamburg HS (Hamburg)
26. Alfred-Almond JSHS (Alfred-Almond)
27. Mount Mercy Academy (Buffalo)
28. Holland HS (Holland)
29. Amherst Central HS (Amherst)
30. Eden JSHS (Eden)
31. P.S. 156 Frederick Law Olmsted (Buffalo)
32. Grand Island SHS (Grand Island)
33. Southwestern SHS (Southwestern)
34. Barker MHS (Barker)
35. Chautauqua Lake Secondary School (Chautauqua Lake)
36. West Seneca West SHS (West Seneca)
37. Wilson MHS (Wilson)
38. Fredonia HS (Fredonia)
39. Starpoint HS (Starpoint)
40. North Collins JSHS (North Collins)
41. Frontier SHS (Frontier)
42. Pembroke JSHS (Pembroke)
43. LeRoy JSHS (LeRoy)
44. Allegany-Limestone HS (Allegany-Limestone)
45. Elba JSHS (Elba)
46. Niagara-Wheatfield SHS (Niagara-Wheatfield)
47. Niagara Catholic HS (Niagara Falls)
48. Bishop Timon-St. Jude HS (Buffalo)
49. Griffith Institute HS (Springville-Griffith Institute)
50. Kendall JSHS (Kendall)
51. Westfield HS (Westfield)
52. Pine Valley Central JSHS (Pine Valley)
53. West Valley Central School (West Valley)
54. Cardinal O'Hara HS (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
55. Sweet Home SHS (Sweet Home)
56. Ellicottville MHS (Ellicottville)
57. Oakfield-Alabama MHS (Oakfield-Alabama)
58. Pavilion JSHS (Pavilion)
59. Falconer MHS (Falconer)
60. Portville JSHS (Portville)
61. Genesee Valley School (Genesee Valley)
62. Clymer Central School (Clymer)
63. Sherman MHS (Sherman)
64. Panama MHS (Panama)
65. Fillmore Central School (Fillmore)
66. Cuba-Rushford HS (Cuba-Rushford)
67. Kenmore East SHS (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
68. Depew HS (Depew)
69. Silver Creek HS (Silver Creek)
70. Tonawanda MHS (Tonawanda)
71. Kenmore West SHS (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
72. Frewsburg JSHS (Frewsburg)
73. L.A. Webber MHS (Lyndonville)
74. Batavia HS (Batavia)
75. Newfane SHS (Newfane)
76. Maryvale HS (Cheektowaga-Maryvale)
77. Letchworth SHS (Letchworth)
78. Warsaw MHS (Warsaw)
79. Alexander MHS (Alexander)
80. Wellsville SHS (Wellsville)
81. Cleveland Hill HS (Cleveland Hill)
82. Randolph JSHS (Randolph)
83. Archbishop Walsh Academy (Olean)
84. Attica HS (Attica)
85. Lockport HS (Lockport)
86. Cassadaga Valley MHS (Cassadaga Valley)
87. Byron-Bergen HS (Byron-Bergen)
88. North Tonawanda HS (North Tonawanda)
89. Olean SHS (Olean)
90. John F. Kennedy SHS (Cheektowaga-Sloan)
91. Cattaraugus-Little Valley HS (Cattaraugus-Little Valley)
92. Gowanda HS (Gowanda)
93. Belfast School (Belfast)
94. Leonardo Da Vinci HS (Buffalo)
95. Bolivar-Richburg JSHS (Bolivar-Richburg)
96. Perry HS (Perry)
97. Pioneer SHS (Yorkshire-Pioneer)
98. CS for Applied Technologies (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
99. Hutchinson Central Technical HS (Buffalo)
100. Charles D'Amico HS (Albion)