The Graduate School of Education and Human Development now ranks 19th among national schools of education in this month’s U.S. News and World Report, a jump of 16 slots from last year’s 35.

The GSEHD also ranked ninth among private institutions, up from the 11th spot, which the school held for four consecutive years. Temple University is tied with GSEHD for the 19 spot.

GSEHD Dean Mary Hartwood Futrell said the credit for the better rankings belongs to the faculty, students and staff of the school.

“We are very proud of the results,” Futrell said. “Now we need to take what we have learned over this past year and see where we can go from here.”

Futrell said the rankings examined several aspects of the school, including acceptance rate, student test scores, external research funding and better peer review of the program.

Futrell said a larger pool of better qualified students made the admissions process very competitive, increasing the quality of the school’s students and contributed to the higher rankings.

The GSEHD is divided into three departments; educational leadership, counseling/human and organizational studies, teacher preparation and special education.

The GSEHD’s program in rehabilitation counseling was ranked fifth in the nation, moving up from seventh last year. The special education program was ranked for the first time at No. 19.

Futrell said outside funding for GSEHD was also an important aspect of the school’s improvement in the past year.

In December, the National Science Foundation gave a team of GW researchers, led by GSEHD professor Sharon Lynch, a $5. 2 million grant to improve the Montgomery County science curriculum in low-income areas.

Futrell said this was the largest grant the school had ever received from the NSF. She said almost half the department is active in seeking outside funding for educational programs.