How Many Schools Are "the Top High School in America"?

Parents Forum
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<p>Hi, SeaLocust and Wouldbemd--we probably know (or know of) each other...my son also goes to TJHSST; he graduates this year. </p>

<p>Just a quick note to confirm, from a parent's perspective (and a "heavy volunteer--I spend 3-5 hours each week working in one spot or another at TJ) what SeaLocust and Wouldbemd say about TJ: it's a phenomenal atmosphere for the kids. From my viewpoint, having been a "smart kid" in mid-range schools most of my life (man was it a shock when I got to G'town Law!), I spent virtually all my growing up years "hiding" my academic skills from my friends...I preferred some measure of popularity...</p>

<p>At TJ, from what I see, kids are free (in the context of peer pressure and school culture) to be whatever they are.--altho studying and excelling at academics is universally valued and it's the norm..there are "slackers" (despite 274 acceptances to U VA, there were also 80+ rejections), scholars and everything in between...the kids do drama, science, math, sports--you name it. In fact, the school's 8th academic period (required, part of the regular school day) offers over 175 free-choice activities--ranging from extra lab time to watching movies--for the students.</p>

<p>I so love the atmosphere at TJ that I'll continue volunteering there next year, even tho S graduates in June...</p>

<p>But, rave tho I do, the school is not "perfect." Not even close! ANd there definitely is a diversity issue...in fact, next year starts a program aimed at increasing African-American and Hispanic attendance by increasing the size of the student body by 50...we'll see if it works. Admission statistics for 2005-06 just came out earlier this week--495 offers of admission out of just shy of 3000 applicants...no breakdown by diversity measures yet...</p>

<p>By the way, money is not (much of) an issue at TJ--the physical plant is appalling (leaking roofs & windows when it rains, old & worn equipment, etc.)...there's constant non-stop fund-raising among the parents to fund the many, many, many state and local competitions TJ kids qualify for, and for upgraded computers, etc. Constant lobbying of the State gov't for TJ's share of the governors' schools (there are 3 in the state) funding (last I heard, TJ was getting well under 50% of the money it's supposed to get under the state formula.)</p>

<p>My "take?": It's the kids. The amazing, unbelievable, phenomenal kids (that's YOU, SeaLocust and Wouldbemd--I'm proud to know you, even tho I don't know who you are from your screen names)...yeah, teachers are good and parents are supportive...but the TJ kids are a terrific group of people. They volunteer as local ES tutors; they raised a ton of money for tsunami relief; they do all the planning/execution of all their ECs (which can drive us supportive parents up a wall--phenomenal tho they are, they ARE kids...can't count the number of last-minute "emergencies" that have arisen cuz kids being kids left some important detail go "too long")...</p>

<p>Don't know if TJ is #1 in the nation--and I'm not sure it matters...it is a special place...</p>

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<p>This listing on top public schools came out in 2003, I believe, but someone usually publishes something like this every year or two. And this list is based, not on scores, I believe, but on offerings of AP/IB programs..
<a href="http://www.csh.k12.ny.us/highschool/data/TheTopHighSchools.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.csh.k12.ny.us/highschool/data/TheTopHighSchools.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>The district where I teach (Montgomery Township, NJ) had an average SAT score of 1244 last year- second highest in NJ. Looks like it ranks right up there with a lot of those being mentioned.</p>

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<p>Well this CC'er doesn't think our high school is the "best in the country". </p>

<p>I do however think my son had an excellent education. The guidance counselors are overworked, the building is dirty and there is way too much emphasis on sports, but they have a great choral and drama program and an outstanding AP program with teachers to match. They rarely send a kid to HYPS.</p>

<p>Sometimes you don't know how good your education is until you get to college. My son found his to be better than he thought and is still at the top of his class in a setting filled with kids from the "best high schools", private and public. </p>

<p>As posters have pointed out, I think you will find in general, that a best high school is tied to income levels when you judge it by test scores and AP, IB offerings. </p>

<p>I agree with observations of Lyricasta, Momoffour and Srcmom3, and Soozie. There is more to a high school than test scores.</p>

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<p>gphoenix - the three Ws were exactly what I was thinking of, but I thought I might have been out of date (not as out of date as BCC). I grew up in Montgomery County but went to private. BCC was tops back then (dark ages), but the Ws are the ones I'm hearing about from friends today, including WJ (Walter Johnson) which was the up-and-coming BCC contender back then and still looks good from the links I'm seeing here.</p>

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<p>West Sidee,
I think if you judge by API, Mission San Jose High school in Fremont is on top 5 in California. Those schools you listed, Gunn High, Palo Alto,Saratoga High, etc. are good schools but not necessarily top school.They are all in Northern California.</p>

<p>In Southern California, there is Troy(Fullerton), University High(Irvine), Whitney(Cerritos), Oxford(Anaheim, top API), Westlake, etc..Basically where you have a lot of rich people live(except Newport Beach/Newport Coast), translate to high housing price, near a University of some sort, you have some top high schools.</p>

<p>I think when people mean top high school, they mean not one of those easy schools, very competitive school, no grade inflation kind of thing.</p>

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<p>^ Wow. You sure do know your California schools... hehe. I have been rather surprised with how fast Troy is rising lately. Many people end up moving close to these top magnet schools to get in, and that creates a self-fulfilling prophecy in itself in my opinion. And if they don't get in, the nearby high schools like Sunny Hills, Cerritos High, etc...get a good amount of excellent students, and those schools have been improving a great deal as well. </p>

<p>I dont think any university is close to Troy, Oxford, Whitney. In my opinion, housing prices rose because of these schools, with people moving here specifically to try to send their kids here... leading to a greater demand for the housing. Cerritos and Fullerton from what I understand used to be a big farming community several decades ago...</p>

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<p>Quality of schools in the number one factor in housing prices in almost every town in America. The exceptions are the very wealthy towns where the majority of families choose private schools.</p>

<p>However, fellow Californians, we should be outraged by how few really good high schools we have given the overall education and wealth of the state. Certainly Whitney and Gunn have some fabulous students who score well as do others. But we are offering them less in high school than mid range schools in most of the country. Their success is based on the resources and benefits their families provide, not these schools which are very mediocre by national standards.</p>

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<p>^ Yes. Given the fact that California gives 60 Billion more in federal taxes to other states than what it gets in return every year, it would be difficult to offer more in resources. But for what money California schools do get, I believe it does very very well not only on the local high school level, but also in the Cal State and UC level as well. Making up for federal taxes through policy and education is certainly something to be admired.</p>

<p>What I don't understand is why California by itself which is the 5th biggest economy in the world continues to get hammered and neglected on a federal level. All we are trying to do is to lift up the US back to the economic powerhouse it used to be, yet I feel that we are taken for granted and hustled every step of the way.</p>

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<p>West Sidee, I can only guess that you've never lived in another state. Our local high schools, given the human capital, are pathetic in comparison. In the affluent areas where our high schools are comparatively good, they fall well below what equally affluent areas in other parts of the country have. We spend a great deal less per student than most states. We have tried every educational fad, at great cost, that the legislature du jour thought interesting. We are the national joke where high schools are concerned.</p>

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<p>Greybeard:
[quote]
I think all high schools are above average, but only a third or so of them are the best in the country.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Bronx HS of Science, Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech and Hunter High, all of which take students based on city-wide examinations, are generally considered the best public academic high schols in New York City. However, there has never been (and probably never will be) agreement on which of these four is THE best.</p>

<p>In addition, there are several district high schools in Queens whose students regularly match or exceed students in those schools when it comes to winning awards at science fairs.</p>

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<p>West Sidee, another misleading information. You don't have to live in Fullerton to go to Troy, you just have to take the test and be in the top 25%, same with Oxford and Whitney. These are consider magnet schools. If you're a parent, you must make sure you can drive and get your kids there in time for school. That is why people prefer, good local public high schools for many reasons: convenience, kids go to the same school, live in the same neighborhood kind of thing.</p>

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<p>Troy is next to CSUF(a great State U) and kids from Troy can take classes at CSUF</p>

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<p>So much bashing for CA k-12 public high schools! I'm wondering aloud, how are Californians do in top colleges where they have to compete with other kids from other state. I once heard a kid from Mater Dei, did so well at Harvard Medical school that graduated tops of Harvard Medical School, (actually it was from his mom)
May be it's the laid back attitude of most native Californians, with the beautiful weather, and nearby beaches who wants to push that hard academically.(:-)</p>

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<p>In listing NYC schools, you didn't include Townsend Harris H.S. Most people would put it right up there. There isn't an entrance exam; admission is based on "City-wides", grades, and maybe recs (I'm not sure.) It's based on the Queens College Campus and is more humanities-oriented than the "sci highs." (In that regard it's more like Hunter.)
See <a href="http://newyorkmetro.com/urban/articles/schools01/school12.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://newyorkmetro.com/urban/articles/schools01/school12.htm&lt;/a>
for further info, if you are not familiar with the school.</p>

<p>Another school that does surprisingly well is the top or honors track at LaGuardia H.S. of Music and Art. You won't find its kids at MIT, but the best kids academically who are also very talented in music, drama, etc. do very well at the Ivies and top LACs.</p>

<p>Others elsewhere not yet mentioned on this list would include Boston Latin and Providence Classical.</p>

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<p>"Troy is next to CSUF(a great State U) and kids from Troy can take classes at CSUF"</p>

<p>This is true; I have personal experience with this. It's great.</p>

<p>One thing you have to keep in mind with some California schools is that the entire school is not a magnet. A little less than half of Troy's students come from the district it is in and do not take an admissions test. Directly from their website, the average SAT score for IB students is well over 1400.</p>

<p>As far as I know, however, Oxford and Gretchen Whitney are pure magnet schools however.</p>

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<p>evil_robot, I was a bit misleading when I wrote that Troy is a magnet, I know it's not pure magnet. But it is magnet in a sense that it's selective, it takes the top 25% of students that apply to the magnet program and not all students at Troy are in the magnet program.</p>

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<p>We've heard a lot of names of top schools so far in the thread, so it looks like there is a lot of room at the top. I definitely did NOT go to a top high school, not by far.</p>

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<p>WHOOOO!!! 276... not bad... lol</p>

<p>8th best in jerz... gotta count for sumthin right?</p>

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<p>Oh. Wow. I got to TJHSST and I'm glad everybody knows about our great school. Most kids here are brilliant.</p>