Best High Schools: Frequently Asked Questions
Reader Comments
Best High Schools
Where are the true leaders? Stuyvesant H.S., NYC
Bronx H.S. and Brooklyn Polytech?
Honesty in Rankings
Although your criteria in ranking the nation's high schools may be well meaning, it penalizes schools who do not have a high enrollment of disadvantaged students. I understand you are trying to bring recognition to those schools who do a good job despite their disadvantaged student populations, but in doing so you have eliminated many schools, particularly in the Midwest, from consideration.
No school in Missouri ranked above the Bronze level and in Kansas only 1 school scored a silver. And yet in Johnson County, Kansas where that school is located, there are at least 7-8 schools whose students routinely score far above most of your Gold Medal schools on state assessments, Sat and Act scores, number of students taking AP courses, as well as number of National Merit Scholars.
I would guess many other fine suburban schools across the country were not included for the same reasons. Excluding white middle class students and schools from the pool does not reflect any true ranking of schools in this country.
Minority
My children attend Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. On your web site you indicate that the minority student enrollment is 7.7%. That is incorrect, Asian enrollment is over 30%. When did my children suddenly become a non-minority?
Well-being
Maybe a more useful evaluation of high schools (and universities) would be based on a school's ability to produce citizens that create a better world. The most commonly accepted indicator of success--high paying jobs--seems kind of shallow considering the real issues that currently affect humanity: war, resource depletion, pollution, climate change... Americans' desire to maintain high levels of consumption is not improving lives. Just because kids are good at math, reading and are taking AP classes, doesn't mean they will be doing the things needed to create well-being in the 21st century.
AP Not the Only Way
I was pleasantly surprised and honored that our school, Middle College High School in Stockton, CA, (Lodi Unified School District) was a Bronze level school in your recent rankings. I believe that our school was disqualified from a silver or gold ranking because we don't offer AP classes. Unfortunately, this doesn't paint the whole picture for our school. All students are required to take college classes during each of their four years at our school with the goal of completing many IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum for Univ. of California/California State University) transferable courses that will allow them to enter college immediately after high school with advanced standing. In addition, we have students who take sufficient college coursework during their high school years to be awarded an Associates Degree at the same time they are granted a High School diploma. I write not to complain that we weren't considered for silver or gold; rather to urge you to think about the alternate routes students take to complete college level coursework beyond the AP courses and tests. That may have been the best or only way for schools in the past to show who "produced the best college-level achievement for the highest percentages of their students." I think that it may be time to look at the other ways to reach the same goal.
Include IB data?
I would be very careful on how you include the IB exams, if you end up doing so. In Fairfax County, VA over 50% of the IB exams taken are the "SL" level. The SL level exams are not accepted for college credit nearly as readily as the HL exams (in fact, UVA and William & Mary do not SL exams for college credit.). Some HL exams even provide less credit than the AP exams (VA Tech does not accept HL Math unless the student owns the whole IB Diploma -- taking the one class and being an "IB certificate holder" isn't enough). There's even an IB class that is the equivalent to remedial math!
Don't think I'm trying to slam IB. I won't deny that the IB exam may test critical thinking better. However, that doesn't seem to be what the colleges want or teach, by evidence of the difference in credits granted.
The IB Organization doesn't seem to care about that. And that's OK. But not many understand that and will assume the two tests (AP and IB) are interchangeable when they read your rankings.
all school ranking
Where can I find a complete list of all schools included in the study? I am interested to see how the schools in our system ranked.
Best High Schools is an Honor
My school made the bronze list....I think that is amazing. This program is an honor to be a part of!
Best High Schools
I was very encouraged by this article and would like to see it year over year to see how/if the schools are improving. I would like to understand the decison in calling the schools 'disadvantage' based on the fact that they are inclusive and representative of all and that that somehow means they are disadvantaged. Lastly, it would be wonderful if there were also a middle school ratings process, after all if the student haven't been prepared prior to entering high school they are greatly impacted. Thanks for the information, it was greatly appreciated and timely!
