<p>I go to a small, public high school in the northeast with a student body (per grade) of about 190. At my school, a 3.5 GPA can get you in the top 10% of your graduating class. Teachers don't really seem to go that hard, and the AP classes seem slightly easier than how you guys described it in yours. </p>
<p>I have a feeling that my high school really sucks though. A lot of the people here (I'm estimating 75%) don't really care about school. 90% of the people are white, ~5% black and 1% Asian. It seems like a lot of them are just underachievers and don't really try... they focus on sports but they aren't really the academically talented type. </p>
<p>How can I be sure that it sucks though? Can high school rankings online provide me with that type of information? What other factors could I use to determine the quality of my high school?</p>
<p>Unless your school is really good, it probably won’t be in any rankings. At my school, about 50% go to 2 year schools. A nearby school supposedly has at least a third not going to college. I think mine is pretty average.</p>
<p>We have 70% going to higher ed, but only 44% to a four year.</p>
<p>It’s not because we’re a stupid school. In fact, we have some of the highest standard pass rates in the state. </p>
<p>But the students in my school aren’t generally prepped for college, and I live in an area of high poverty, so most students aren’t encouraged for financial reasons as well. I mean, not only family-wise, my school can’t afford college prep programs. We’ve barely managed to squeeze in Calculus and Physics just this year (in the form of APs online).</p>
<p>There’s just no money. The school tries to encourage the kids, but they can’t get anything big together. </p>
<p>It’s kind of sad…I know plenty of really intelligent kids just heading to community college that would be great at a four-year, and more still that aren’t even going anywhere at all.</p>
<p>There’s no heavy competition at my school. It just isn’t encouraged overall. The only competition comes from the top 15 or so kids in each grade. </p>
<p>My poor, poor boonies school…I gets it’s pretty average as far as rural publics go though.</p>
<p>I think a school can suck in two ways: Academically, and Socially.</p>
<p>Obviously, you can gauge academic quality by graduation rate, the number of students who go onto pursue college educations, number of AP/Honors classes offered, number of co-curricular and extracurricular activities available (since all that serves to enhance academics indirectly), and teacher/administrator quality (how much do they care about students, or are they just there to make their money and go home)</p>
<p>Like the person said above it also depends on the economic background of the students and the city the school is located in. If you live in an area full of rich families who can afford tutors, SAT classes, and hold their kids to the standards of a high education, you’re obviously going to have more motivated students who want to do well and get into a prestigious college.</p>
<p>Socially, it depends on the student body, cliques, school spirit, and generally aura on campus. Obviously academic quality is more important though, but I think the social aspect of high school is sooo important when it comes to overall happiness and demeanor while you go there.</p>
<p>My school is always in the top 100 lists by Newsweek and USNWR, but I think they’re sort of meaningless. My school randomly jumps or falls about 30 places every year with no change in administration or teaching.</p>
<p>I believe the best ways to judge are to look at average SAT/ACT scores and % going to four year colleges. I’ve heard # of NMSFs and # going to top schools recommended as good ways, but I feel like a lot of those kids are just smart by themselves. Maybe in some places, passage of state tests would be a good way to tell, but in my experience, they’re too dumbed down to say anything about the quality of an education. Perhaps if your state has more rigorous tests, that would be a good way as well.</p>