tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post114644108637878416..comments2024-03-13T21:26:03.011-07:00Comments on Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher: Newsweek's Top 1000 High SchoolsDarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1146701434048613192006-05-03T17:10:00.000-07:002006-05-03T17:10:00.000-07:00I laughed and laughed at the Newsweek article. Bei...I laughed and laughed at the Newsweek article. Being a Dallas native who has pretty much been in education in one way or another since childhood, I found the listings hilariously skewed. I wouldn't argue with most of the top two hundred, but after that there are a raft of local schools who manage to run kids out of the schools via dropping out and such which makes the key number-graduating class number-a diminished chord at best. I saw this up close when my daughter, who had been top ten percent (a key factor in our state...)until senior year, when due to the many MANY dropouts she ended up in the top TWELVE percent even though her actual grades were higher her senior year. So go figure. I saw some glaring omissions on the list of schools that work hard to retain students and still have solid AP programs. I also saw some schools that I would never teach in, send my kids to or even recommend to my worst enemy that were on the list. So as with most polls and statistics, this was slanted towards making as many of the entries urban as suburban, and whenever you do a poll, which this is, with an outcome in mind, then it's only a list that is as good as your numbers. In this case, I really think some of the numbers bear some second checking.Ellen Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02845981491726296767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1146532045401974992006-05-01T18:07:00.000-07:002006-05-01T18:07:00.000-07:00I know two of the Sac area schools. Mira Loma and ...I know two of the Sac area schools. Mira Loma and Rio, way to go! I'm an Encina baby myselfOnyxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05784693035912482700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1146514024296868592006-05-01T13:07:00.000-07:002006-05-01T13:07:00.000-07:00I think that the Lybrook above might have an API s...I think that the Lybrook above might have an API score of 892:<BR/><BR/>http://www.lhs.fuhsd.org/school_info/<BR/><BR/>-Mark RouloAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1146513859775304522006-05-01T13:04:00.000-07:002006-05-01T13:04:00.000-07:00Actually one big problem with the methodology is t...Actually one big problem with the methodology is that schools with lots of hispanic students will score artificially well because of the Spanish AP test. I suspect that this might explain a lot of the non-correlation (e.g. Lybrook HS with an API score of 472 being in the top 500 public high schools in the US).<BR/><BR/>Two more obvious problems:<BR/><BR/>1) AP tests *taken* count, so a high failure rate can still generate a high school rank.<BR/><BR/>2) Actual college courses taken don't seem to count, so taking a US history class at a local college (and passing and being able to transfer the units) doesn't count while taking the AP test (even if not passing it!) does.<BR/><BR/>-Mark RouloAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1146462626681121502006-04-30T22:50:00.000-07:002006-04-30T22:50:00.000-07:00(from our area in CA)Newsweek...School...........A...(from our area in CA)<BR/>Newsweek...School...........API<BR/>-------------------------------- <BR/>217.....San Jose HS.........557<BR/>261.....Leland HS...........819<BR/>420.....Silver Creek........742<BR/>472.....Lynbrook............472<BR/>684.....AP Hill.............654<BR/>784.....Pioneer.............784<BR/>795.....A Lincoln...........673<BR/>(nr)....Evergreen Valley....813KauaiMarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02581543514815246743noreply@blogger.com