COEUR d'ALENE - For the second consecutive year, Newsweek magazine has ranked Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy among the top 100 schools in the nation.

Charter Academy ranked 67th in the magazine's most recent listing of the best high schools. Last year, Charter was ranked 59th. Newsweek also ranked the schools by region in 2012, naming Charter Academy the 13th best high school in the West.

"I'm especially pleased with the Newsweek ranking," said Charter Principal Dan Nicklay.

There are several media outlets that rank public schools each year, and Newsweek's is the most comprehensive of the bunch, measuring the percentage of graduates accepted to college, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests taken per student, how students perform on AP/IB exams and the students' average SAT scores.

Washington Post education writer Jay Mathews determines rankings each year also, using a less comprehensive measure. He tabulates the ratio of AP and IB tests taken at a school by the number of graduating seniors.

Mathews ranked Charter 110th in the nation this year, up from 127th in 2012.

"The Post ranking, though good to have, is not as important to us as the others," Nicklay said. "It only focuses on the number of AP tests taken, without any weight attached to the number actually passed."

In analyzing the results of this year's Washington Post list, Mathews points out an emerging trend: Small, intensive schools get high marks when it comes to college attendance rates.

This is no secret to the founders and administrators of Charter Academy.

"I have always believed in the value of smaller schools, primarily for their sense of community. I think there's real value in knowing the names of all of the kids, and knowing what they're up to," Nicklay said. "Intensive is certainly important. It's what defines us. Of course, it's what we refer to as rigorous and content-rich."

The school opened its doors in 1999, one of the first charter schools to open after state legislation authorized the creation of charters - free, public schools that operate independently from the existing school district structure.

Charter Academy's focus has always been on preparing students for college by providing academic rigor.

Newsweek reports that 100 percent of Charter Academy students graduate from high school within four years; 100 percent of the school's graduates are accepted into a college program; the average SAT score is 1,848 and the average AP score is 3.2.

Just two other Idaho schools made it on to Newsweek's list of the best 1,000 schools in the nation. Eagle High School is ranked 853rd and McCall-Donnelly in McCall came in at 876th.

U.S. News and World Reports ranked Charter Academy 115th in the nation, although Nicklay said that agency used data from 2009-10 and Newsweek's data is current.