High School Rankings

[Yan Wang]

Well, looking at the Newsweek picture, I got looking around Newsweek and found the Top High School Rankings at msnbc.com

The full story is here: http://www.msnbc.com/news/917011.asp?0nw=n2d

And the ranking is here: http://www.msnbc.com/news/912995.asp

Public schools are ranked according to a ratio called the Challenge Index devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2002 divided by the number of graduating seniors. Schools that chose more than half of their students by grades or test scores were not considered because the index is designed to identify schools that challenge average students and does not work well with schools that have few or no average students. The schools ranked below have the strongest AP or IB programs in the country. Each of them is in the top four percent of all American high schools measured this way. If you know of a public school that belongs on the list, with at least as many AP or IB tests as graduates in 2002, contact Jay Mathews at...

Well, Ithaca High School here is ranked #131:

131 . Ithaca | Ithaca | N.Y. | 2.162

How did other people's high schools rank up?

[Joe Matt]

JR Tucker not on the list!

w00t!

Normal and darn pround of it!

[Ashley Weed]

I think there are more that 737ish schools in America.... so, therefore... my school.. nor any of our neighboring schools will be found on the list!

[OneAngryDaisy]

Nice... Wissahickon comes in 475th. Imagine if we came in 341st..
Wissahickon | Ambler | Pa. | 1.304

[Patrick Wang]

Monta Vista is #82.

Monta Vista Robotics Team
Team 115

[Austin]

Originally posted by JosephM
JR Tucker not on the list!

w00t!

Normal and darn pround of it!

Ditto...except "Jr Tucker=Kokomo"

[Jnadke]

This ranking system means nothing as to the quality of a school. It's merely a ratio between how many students took AP/IB tests to the number of students in the graduating class.


This belongs in Chit Chat.

[Jeff Waegelin]

Originally posted by Jnadke
This ranking system means nothing as to the quality of a school. It's merely a ratio between how many students took AP/IB tests to the number of students in the graduating class.

I agree. How can you say someplace is the "Best High School in America" solely on the number of AP/IB tests that its students took? That's only one single factor, and to give the #1 distinction based solely on that factor just doesn't seem right.

And guess what, Rochester isn't on the list either... we *only* had 400 AP tests taken this year.

[JVN]

56 . Wilson Magnet* | Rochester | N.Y. | 2.735

Home of the X-Cats.
Not too shabby!

[Travis Hoffman]

Last rant, I promise.

***************************************

Hmm.....why doesn't this surprise me?

Beachwood, Aurora, Solon, Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Chagrin Falls......All of the ranked Cleveland-area schools seem to be located in VERY affluent suburban locations.

So, ultimately, in order to be considered the "best", it all boils down to who has the most $$$$???

It's the American Way....

I'd truly love to see a list of the most successful high schools whose hallways weren't paved with gold, whose teachers and administrators were at a significant disadvantage due to inadequate resources, and whose student population was filled with a higher percentage of troubled/misguided youth. Those schools who manage to do more with less - the ones who can turn not only the well-mannered but also the troubled, the poor, and the forgotten into college students - THOSE are the schools I'd consider the best in the nation, because they are inspiring students and creating futures for those who never believed they had any. Unfortunately, the educational handicap these schools are living with prevents them from saving as many as they'd like to. The next Dean Kamen could be working on his parents' farm right now in rural Ohio, and we might never see that kid become a great contributor to society because his school is denied the same educational programs that wealthier schools have.

It's your loss, America.

[J Flex 188]

hmm...sometimes im grateful that Canada's education system differs in ways from the American system. Your schools probably offer more opportunity and richer experiences, not in monetary terms i mean, but overall. And at other times, the AP/IB debates rage on, drawing attention to any disparity between rural and city schools. For now, Canada's highest ranked schools are most likely private schools, much like the ones listed, but i am confident that public schools would rank quite high as well, including woburn. the only problem would be how to incoporate different streams (we have gifted, academic, applied) courses in our school into a ranking system.

This reminds me.. anyone know of any schools in canada that offer AP classes? i hear unionville does, but that was from a friend so i cant be sure = )

[srjjs]

Aragon's number 470 on the list.
Frankly, I'm surprised we were listed at all.

[Joel J]

Originally posted by Jnadke
This ranking system means nothing as to the quality of a school. It's merely a ratio between how many students took AP/IB tests to the number of students in the graduating class.


This belongs in Chit Chat.

I agree.. I attend a magnet school, Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy of East Hartford High School, and this was its first year with a senior class. CIBA has 22 seniors, and as it stands now, we each took an average of 5 IB exams. All sophomores (26) take the AP Modern European History examination. That brings our average to (((22*5) + 26) / 22) or 6.181. That makes us the number two school in the country, and in our very first year as a four year school. What a laugh. That just proves this method, the challenge index, isn't that great. We are a public school who chooses students based on a lottery. If they do this challenge index next year, CIBA will be the number one or two school in the country, as we are now an official four year high school

[tatsak42]

518 . Poudre* | Fort Collins | Colo. | 1.258

yay. yeeeah, i'm outta here

[Blacknight]

hmmm, only one of our schools placed
Martin county : 436
Eh and I guess South Fork didn't make the cut