A reasonable person would assume that for a high school to get on Newsweek's Best High Schools List the criteria would be a combination of the following:
- Percentage of student body to graduate
- Standardized test scores
- ACT average
- SAT average
- Percentage of students going on to college
- Stiff graduation requirements
Wrong!
Michael Winerip of The New York Times has studied the issue and found that the above is not considered in Newsweek's formula. If the above criteria does not determine a best school, then what would?
AP Classes
Advanced Placement classes are exams constructed by The College Board, the SAT people. Students select classes from a list and take the class at their local high school or college. At the end of the semester, students take the official AP test. They may receive a score of 1 to 5. Most colleges expect to see a score of 3 or higher. Ivy League colleges usually accept only a 5.
Many high schools have large numbers of students taking college level classes and getting college credit for them. Does Newsweek take these into account? No, only AP classes.
Based On Passing Tests?
So, these best high schools must have a very high percentage of students receiving 3's, 4's and 5's on the AP Tests? Not the case, again.
What Newsweek uses to determine success is the number of AP tests taken divided by graduating seniors.
But, students have to pass the AP tests with at least a 4, right? No. A 3? No. They don't need to pass the test at all. If they take the class and "try" to pass the AP test, that attempt qualifies the student to be a candidate for the list.
Do you mean that all students that attempt to take the AP could fail with a score of 1 and the school would still be on the list of Best High Schools? Yes.
Results Don't Matter
Again, one would assume that the scores that students receive on the AP tests would be critical. They do matter to colleges but not to Newsweek. The truth is that high schools that have a 100% graduation rate and have an average ACT score of 24 (far above the national average) would not get on the list if the students did not take "official" AP tests. However, a school with a drop out rate of 40%, average ACT score of 19 (below the national average) but a high percentage of students taking the AP classes would make the list.
This list is selling magazines for Newsweek but probably not a good tool to judge high schools.
Related articles:
New York City High Schools Go Smaller, SAT Scores Drop, ACT Scores Falling, ACT Reading Scores Are Down - Again
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2006 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
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