Radford High School has been named one of the top high schools in the nation, according to a U.S. News and World Report survey. The school received a "silver medal" from the magazine, which ranked schools based on students' "college readiness index" and the rate that disadvantaged students achieved compared with their peers.

Researchers from School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education data research business run by Standard & Poor's, analyzed 21,069 public high schools in 48 states using data from the 2006-07 school year. Researchers looked at whether each school's students performed better than statistically expected for the average student in the state. They examined reading and math scores for all students on statewide standardized exams and then factored in the percentage of economically disadvantaged enrolled at the school to find which schools were performing better than their statistical expectations. Low-income students typically perform lower on those exams.

The magazine used a college readiness index based on the number high-school seniors who took one or more Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test before their senior year. It's designed as a measure of how well students master college-level material before graduating.

Radford's index was 22.6.

Silver medals are awarded to schools with a college readiness index of at least 20, but that are not ranked in the top 100 schools nationally.

Schools in the top 25 had college-readiness scores of 86 percent to 100 percent.

School travel plan approved in Blacksburg

The preliminary "Safe Routes to School" travel plan for students at two Blacksburg schools has officially been approved.

On Dec. 5, the Virginia Department of Transportation gave the town of Blacksburg, Montgomery County Public Schools and the YMCA the go-ahead to apply for up to $100,000 in grant money to educate the public about alternatives to driving to school and safe ways to walk and up to $500,000 to construct pathways to accomplish more walking.

Some options in the plan included lowering the speed limit in school zones and adding sidewalks around the areas of Gilbert Linkous Elementary and the New School.

Both the town and the YMCA must submit their applications by Dec. 31. They won't know whether they received the money until May.

On Monday, Radford City Council passed a resolution supporting the city's attempt to get $500,000 from the same program. If Radford receives the money, it would be used in the proposed $5.6 million improvement of Second Avenue. That plan includes a biking and walking trail along what's now a narrow section of road markedly unfriendly to bikers and walkers.

It's a phased plan, according to grant writer and planner Melissa Skelton, focusing on the distance between Dalton Middle and Belle Heth Elementary schools. That's also the pathway from Radford High School to the city's recreation center.

Skelton said the city's existing biking and walking trails and its plan to extend them should weigh in Radford's favor as the request is assessed.

Contest tests students' consumer skills

Middle and high school students can compete in an online competition designed to teach them about consumer pitfalls.

The LifeSmarts contest, sponsored by the National Consumers League, asks teens throughout the nation to test their knowledge of personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology and consumer rights and responsibilities. Local teams can compete online for a chance to attend Virginia's state competition in early March.

"With LifeSmarts, teens learn to avoid common consumer pitfalls, navigate government, and understand credit-card jargon before they sign the dotted line," said Celia Ray Hayhoe, Virginia's LifeSmarts coordinator and a Virginia Cooperative Extension family resource management specialist at Virginia Tech.

The winning state team receives an all-expense, three-day paid trip to St. Louis for the national competition on April 25. Last year's winning state team from Spotsylvania High School placed third in the nation.

For the first time this year, students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade can participate online in a junior varsity competition. The top two Virginia teams in the junior varsity competition will be invited to the Virginia LifeSmarts competition in March to vie for the state junior varsity title.

An adult coach must register any team online before it can participate. Entries will be accepted until Feb. 6.

Anna L. Mallory covers events and issues affecting Montgomery County schools and beyond. If you have information you'd like featured, e-mail anna.mallory@roanoke.com. You also can visit Chalk Dust, the New River Valley's education news source, at blogs.roanoke.com/chalkdust.

Staff writer Tim Thornton contributed to this report.