<p>Compared to Newsweek's rankings:
PROS: Takes into account the performance of disadvantaged students (low income, blacks, Hispanics). Includes magnets, charters, specialized schools that have high SAT scores, which Jay Mathews excludes. Weights performance on AP tests (3s and above), rather than just a simple number of tests.</p>
<p>CONS: Does not include IB tests.</p>
<p>Discuss:
Another fad? Makes more sense than Newsweek? Affects school reputations to lay community, colleges, business/donators?</p>
<p>Makes way more sense than Newsweek, but I don't really see the point in ranking high schools anyway. That said, my school is a silver medalist, woohoo!</p>
<p>to the op, i noticed your from northern virginia, so do you go to TJHSST? yea it makes a lot more sense but like ^ said, there really is no point in ranking high schools.</p>
<p>The website answers the question about why rank high schools. The answer is accountability. The idea is that maybe some parents/legislators/schoolboarders will see these rankings and put pressure on the schools to be more accountable for improving the college readiness of disadvantaged groups and the student body as a whole with more rigorous AP courses, etc.</p>
<p>I have a kid at TJ and another who graduated from there, so I love the ranking. But, seriously, the decision to completely eliminate IB tests from consideration is insane. You can argue (and I do) that IB exams are on average less valuable than AP exams but to say they are worth zero is crazy. Flawed as Jay Mathews' Newsweek rankings are, these are even worse.</p>
<p>Ranking high schools is very silly. Most people go to their high school based more on where they live more than how good of a student they are. </p>
<p>High schools are quite different from college, and even college rankings are rather disputed.</p>
<p>"Most people go to their high school based more on where they live more than how good of a student they are."</p>
<p>Why does this make rankings silly?</p>
<p>I can see several reasons why it would make rankings relevant. For these "open enrollment" high schools, which have simple geographical regions as entry criteria, rankings reflect in part the quality of the school more than the inherent quality of the students. Rankings increase accountability because school district is a key factor in where people (especially new parents) decide to settle down, and to a lesser extent, where businesses go. Perceived quality also has consequences for the local school board, how much funding the state gives the district, etc.</p>
<p>After searching by state, I've decided that these rankings are meaningless.</p>
<p>They didn't include what I and many others consider to be one of the top 2 in the state, yet in a list of over 30 from the state (many of which I've never even heard of...) it wasn't there.
And no, I'm not talking about my own school (as privates aren't included).</p>
<p>"Most people go to their high school based more on where they live more than how good of a student they are."</p>
<p>Why does this make rankings silly?"</p>
<p>It doesn't make rankings silly, but it means that from a college-admissions standpoint, a student going to one of the top public high schools is typically there because of his parents' accomplishments / achievements (being able to afford that kind of area, as most are in affluent areas), not because of his own achievements. And that not going to a good public high school isn't a student's "fault" or doing, just a reflection on something he had no control over -- where his parents chose to live.</p>
<p>=P Bwaha, my school you have to apply for, and it accepts kids from all over the county.</p>
<p>But really -- in my experience, it's more of how motivated the kids are, than how AWESOME the school system is. A school with a good reputation will attract parents convinced that it's a good school system, and those same parents are usually the ones who push their kids. It's a cycle.</p>
<p>Hmm....#5, Montpelier High, is in my state. I've visited it for certain tournaments, and it doesn't seem all that special. Maybe I missed something, but l like my school better and it's nowhere on that list. Personal bias?</p>