Ribbon Schools Award was granted approximately 5,600 times, recognizing 5,200 different schools. (Some schools have been selected two or more times.) More than 133,000 public, charter, private and parochial schools serving grades K 12 are eligible for the award. More than 9,000 schools have been honored as National Blue Ribbon Schools — with more than 10,000 awards given in total — since the program's inception. States, territories, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Department of Defense Education Activity schools have joined the competition over the years. Special emphases have changed from year to year based on national priorities. Among National Blue Ribbon Schools there is much diversity: the award recognizes rural, urban, and suburban schools; large and small schools, and public and non-public schools. Criteria The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program accepts nominations from both public and non-public schools that meet one of two criteria: Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing Schools are among their state’s highest-performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students over the past 5 years. Eligible schools must have been in existence for five years and cannot have received the award within the five prior years. Must have excellence in the fields of academics, arts, and athletics. Application procedure Although at 1 time schools self-nominated for the award, this is no longer the case. At the invitation of the U.S. Secretary of Education, Chief State School Officers (including Washington, DC, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Education) and the Council for American Private Education nominate eligible schools for the annual award. Eligible schools must demonstrate high or strongly improving student scores on state or nationally normed assessments in the last year tested; schools must also make Annual Yearly Progress in accordance with No Child Left Behind. Nominated schools submit applications describing school operations such as the use of assessments and assessment data, instructional methods, curricula, professional development, leadership, and community and family involvement. A total of 420 schools may be nominated in any year; state quotas are determined by the number of students and schools. The Blue Ribbon award is considered the highest honor an American school can achieve. A school's use of the National Blue Ribbon Schools logo is restricted. Criticism David W. Kirkpatrick, the Senior Education Fellow