JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Newsweek magazine's annual ranking of the best public high school in the nation again places two Jacksonville schools among the top 10 in the country.

Stanton College Preparatory is ranked third and Paxon School for Advanced Studies is seventh according the the survey conducted in 2004.

"Stanton College is a terrifically diverse school -- 30 percent African-American students," Newsweek contributing editor Jay Mathews said Monday. "They have shown that kids from all kinds of background can learn at this level if you give them enough time and encouragement."

Nineteen Florida schools ranked in the top 100. Douglas Anderson School fo the Arts ranked 281 and Nease High in St. Johns County ranked 493.

The survey uses a formula of the number of advanced placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken divided by the number of graduating seniors.

According to the magazine, while its formula to ranking schools doesn't tell the whole story about a school, it's one of the best measures available to compare students' readiness for higher-level work.

In the magazine's 2003 survey, Stanton ranked second in the nation, and Paxon was third.

RANK	SCHOOL	LOCATION	INDEX	SUBSIDIZED LUNCHES
1	Jefferson County	Irondale, Ala.	10.755	2
2	International Academy	Bloomfield Hills, Mich.	8.422	0
3	Stanton College Prep	Jacksonville, Fla.	7.385	7.8
4	Eastside	Gainesville, Fla.	6.682	39
5	H-B Woodlawn	Arlington, Va.	5.747	14
6	Science/Engineering Magnet	Dallas, Texas	5.545	37.8
7	Paxon	Jacksonville, Fla.	5.373	13
8	Pensacola	Pensacola, Fla.	5.362	63
9	Raleigh Charter	Raleigh, N.C.	5.089	0
10	Hillsborough	Tampa, Fla.	5.085	50

MORE ONLINE: America's Best High Schools