If you are looking at stats that reference API, they are outdated. The last API report was in 2013
https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pr/api.asp
@stanger I believe UC’s, especially UCB, use a lot of data to track how enrolled students perform. This includes the CA high schools and the UC’s are aware of which high schools have low API rankings. Generally, graduates of high schools such as Lowell, with a high API index, perform well at UCB, other UC’s and other colleges. Students who attend these high API index schools have a higher chance to do well in college.
Myself being a graduate of Lowell and very familiar with the school, I use Lowell (using i.e., SAT scores, etc.) as a benchmark to compare it with other high schools in the Bay Area, including my district high school. To my surprise, if you are looking at National Merit Winners, there are a few public high schools in the Bay Area that exceeded Lowell’s numbers in NMW. I recall, even some low API performing schools, such as Mission, has a NMW. The point is whether a student is from a low or high API index school, the student can still get into any college if that student meets all the criteria looked at by the admission officer. However, high API high schools tend to give the students a better chance to succeed in college.
@UCBUSCalum This may be of interest to you. I have not kept up with research, but looking at your post remembered reading this five to ten years ago and thinking it is very, very interesting. This research is from UC data.
From the Conclusion (FGPA is freshman GPA):
“The results presented here indicate that SAT scores are substantially more predictive of
eventual student performance across high schools than within. In other words, the average SAT
score at a student’s school is substantially more informative about that student’s eventual FGPA
than is the student’s own score.”
“Whether this would represent desirable policy depends on one’s view about the appropriate
role of school demographic characteristics in admissions decisions. A non-trivial portion of the
SAT’s across-school predictive power is due to its association with the school racial composition”
https://eml.berkeley.edu/~jrothst/restingpapers/satpaper2_june2009.pdf
@gkalman Yes, I remember seeing similar articles about this type of research. It touches into sensitive subjects where certain geographical areas have high home prices and high performing schools vs. the ones that don’t… To equalize access to the top UC’s, UCB and UCLA are more holistic in reviewing applicants than the other UC’s.
So, I gather that the interest in this topic is for those looking for a top-performing public California high school for their child who are using number of Cal admittances as a barometer of quality? You run the risk of fighting with 50 or 60 top students for acceptances as many colleges look at your ranking among your fellow students at that HS. That’s an enormous amount of pressure for a kid - the HS curriculum is already tougher. Now you have to worry about whether you should take that 12th AP class so as to keep up with that top group of kids? I dunno - my D went to a middle-of-the-road public, was one of 4 valedictorians (not 50+, like at a nearby select HS) with only 6 AP classes and got into Cal where she is a STEM junior with a great GPA. I get the allure of wanting to have the best education you can manage for your child, but YMMV when it comes to college acceptances.
@Undercrackers I think that there are a few take aways here.
First, I think that you are right. It is likely slightly harder for the same student to get an admission to a top college coming from a more select high school than from a mediocre high school. (Most likely the explanation is due to colleges wanting diversity. Which I recognize, may be controversial. But, personally, I support.)
Second, your example may not be typical. On average, a student from a more select high school is better prepared for a top college. (That is basically how I interpret the statistics in the paper.)
Third, it is very personal from one student to the next. Yes, your child may have thrived being one of the bigger fish in a smaller pond. For another child this can be very different. Having friends that are more academically interested around oneself can make a big difference for their interests, hobbies, personal habits, etc.
So, I congratulate you on your D and how you raised her. However, that may not be a prescription for everyone.
By the way, I took my younger D out of a top 20 (per US News) high school after sophomore year and put her into a “normal” school (probably similar to your D’s) not because it was hard for her or anything like that. She was doing better than great (straight As, plenty of APs) and seemed very well adjusted. I just wanted her to have more time after school and have a wider circle of friends.
With respect to college, I don’t know if having her change schools was a service or a disservice. For acceptances, it is probably a service, though, I am not sure. With respect to how prepared she is, probably a disservice. With respect to some other softer issues, probably a plus. She does hang out with a different crowd now (I would say that they are more diverse in every sense of the word; more caring; more “real”; but also less motivated academically; don’t often get the more sarcastic humor; …) I think, overall, it was the right decision for her. However, I am definitely not certain.
I guess what I am getting at is that it is not a race for everyone, every child is different, and you may be jumping to conclusions about people’s motivations in this discussion. (Though, to some degree, I suspect you are right with respect to a certain portion of posters.)
1 Like
@gkalman - many good points. Don’t get me wrong - if where our family lives now was based on the quality of the public HS education, we probably wouldn’t be here. We just set down stakes decades ago and didn’t wind up moving, for a variety of reasons. Would my kid have stacked up with the top kids at a more competitive HS? My gut tells me “not necessarily”. Or “maybe”, but it would have profoundly changed her and her parents as people. My only point, I think, was that IF you are stretching yourself (financially, interdistrict transfers, etc.) to get your kid into a select public HS SOLELY in order to increase the odds of he/she getting accepted at top universities, there may be unintended consequences. Our neighbor is a VP at a local select HS, and the ongoing stress of the kids and parents is palpable. The year D graduated HS, more than one kid at this other school was disappointed because the top school they got into was UC Berkeley.