Information on latest high school ranking report
Part of our continuing work to provide the best education possible to our students is taking time to reflect upon the various performance measures made available to us. Some examples include the State Report Card released each September and the U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools report released each spring.
On April 23, the U.S. News & World Report used student performance data from the 2021-2022 school year to release its most current Best High Schools Ranking. Each year, the release of this report offers the district the opportunity to reflect upon its performance. While these numbers offer some means of measuring our work, they also represent an opportunity to evaluate both the comparisons it provides and the value of those comparisons. Part of that reflection is understanding the report itself.
Some important aspects about the latest ranking that should be considered include the following:
As always, the ranking focuses on the performance of students in just four grades, 9-12.
The rankings are based upon data from the 2021-2022 school year (p. 4), the first “normal” school year following the pandemic and our hybrid approach to instruction during the 2020-2021 school year.
The methodology used to produce the current rankings is new (p. 2), which complicates any comparisons that might be made to rankings of previous years. More about the methodology can be found in full HERE. It is important to read such details because, for example, where the report suggests that only 64% of students passed their AP exams, that number actually represents the percentage of 12th grade students who took and passed at least one AP exam during their high school experience (p. 9). Having nearly two thirds of a class of students successfully complete an AP course is a positive point.
While there are six (6) data points that inform the rankings, three (3) are dependent upon state test scores, two (2) are dependent upon AP scores, and one (1) is based upon the graduate rate of our 2022 graduates. Essentially, there are only three components informing the rankings.
Because the data used to inform the current rankings is two years old, it is important to note that the district has already responded to the student performance data used by U.S. News & World Report. Our analysis of the current ranking speaks to the relative strength of our Advanced Placement Program and a difficult year for state testing. Specifically, in the Spring of 2022, we experienced lower than average student performance on both the Algebra I and Geometry End of Course Exams. Actions steps that were taken to address that data include reconsidering talent distribution in the math department, restructuring the math course of study, increased math intervention supports, and focusing on math-specific professional development. One outcome of those changes includes a change in test-specific state ranking as follows:
