fund the expansion and renovation of Brookline High School. This building project included the construction of a new building at the 111 Cypress Street site, a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) building to replace the building at the corner of Tappan and Greenough Streets, renovations to the 3rd floor of the main building and the Tappan gymnasium, as well as improvements to Cypress Field. Academics Brookline High School has received the gold medal for Best High Schools from U.S. News & World Report. In addition, Boston Magazine has frequently ranked Brookline High School as one of the best high schools in Massachusetts for academic performance; in 2008, it was ranked top in the state. In 2020, Boston Magazine ranked Brookline High School as the 20th best public school in Massachusetts. As of 2021, Brookline High School was ranked #64 nationally for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), according to U.S. News & World Report. Although the Advanced Placement (AP) program at Brookline High School is smaller than at other high schools, it has grown dramatically over the past 10 years. In 2020–21, 435 students took 797 AP exams, and 91.9% of students scored “3” or above on these exams. In 2019, Brookline High School was ranked in the top 5% of the most challenging public high schools in America (952nd of 22,000). The rank was determined by the Challenge Index defined as the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests taken in a year relative to the number of seniors who graduate. In 2020, the 5-year graduation rate was 96.5% with 86% of students planning to attend a 4-Year private or public college. Most Advanced Placement classes are only available to juniors and seniors. Honors level classes are considered rigorous, and students who excel in these classes often receive top scores on SAT Subject Tests. Students who decide to take AP level classes are encouraged not to take more than 2 or 3 of them at one time, as these classes feature difficult research projects and labs in addition to standardized material. Brookline High School does not calculate a weighted GPA for its students. Students receive only an unweighted GPA out of 4.0, so grades in Advanced Placement classes do not contribute any more to a student's GPA than grades in Honors and Standard level classes. Athletics Brookline High School features the largest interscholastic athletics program