Best High School Ranking

Best High School Ranking May 7, 2013 The Daily Beast and Newsweek have put out a new high school ranking and its worth checking out. The Daily Beast has a best high school ranking out and we thought wed share with you some of their top picks around the nation. Of their rankings, theyve got a best of the south, best of the northeast, best of the west, best of the midwest, and most transformative. According to The Daily Beast, This year our ranking highlights the best 2,000 public high schools in the nation—those that have proven to be the most effective in turning out college-ready grads. The list is based on six components: graduation rate (25 percent), college acceptance rate (25 percent), AP/IB/AICE tests taken per student (25 percent), average SAT/ACT scores (10 percent), average AP/IB/AICE scores (10 percent), and percent of students enrolled in at least one AP/IB/AICE course (5 percent). Before we jump into which high schools ranked well in this algorithm, we wanted to draw your attention to the algorithm itself. As youll note, 25% of the algorithm consists of AP tests (or IB / AICE) taken per student. Only 10% of the formula consists of how the students actually do on these tests. Remember when we wrote about how certain high schools forced students to pay for (and take) AP tests even though the students had no shot of getting college credit even if they got a 5? This is their motivation! And thats why its completely unethical. If a university has no math requirement and math is a students least favorite subject, she shouldnt be forced to take the AP Calculus AP test after having already been admitted to the college of her choice (at which shell never take a math class). Its a waste of money. Its a waste of a students time. And its all because of high school rankings. We at Ivy Coach support high school rankings by reputable sources like The Daily Beast and Newsweek . We just dont support high schools attempting to manipulate rankings at the expense of students. Anyhow, enough venting. So which high school ranks best in the south? That would be the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Coming in second in the south is the International Baccalaureate School at Bartow High in Bartow, Florida. Rounding out the top three in the south is the School of Science / Engineering Magnet in Dallas, Texas. In the northeast, High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey takes top prize. Placing second is City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park in Buffalo, New York. Rounding out the top three is Biotechnology High School in Freehold, New Jersey. In the midwest, Signature School in Evansville, Indiana places first, followed by Northside College Prepatory High School in Chicago, Illinois and International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. And in the west, BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale Arizona claims the top spot. This school is followed in the west by BASIS Tucson North in Tucson, Arizona and American Indian Public High School in Oakland, California.