FAQ about Top High Schools List

FAQ: Best High Schools

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We rank these great schools so people will read the list and the accompanying stories. From long experience as journalists, we know if we did not rank them, few people would pay attention. Some readers endorse my view that NEWSWEEK's recognition has given support to the many AP, IB and Cambridge teachers who want to welcome into their college-level courses all students willing to do the work. We understand, however, that many readers find this way of looking at schools odd, and offputting. Most Americans consider schools with the highest average test scores to be the best, even though their students' success is heavily influenced by the financial status of their parents. The Challenge Index was designed in part to undermine the view that schools with lots of rich kids are good, and schools with lots of poor kids are bad. I love pointing to the many schools on the NEWSWEEK list that are full of low-income students, and often rank higher than much more affluent rivals.

This year, a group of 38 school superintendents from five states wrote to say they did not want their schools included. "We all believe that all schools, communities-and your readers-are poorly served by NEWSWEEK's persistent efforts to use a single statistic, the number of students who sit for AP or IB exams, to rank schools," their letter said. "In reality, it is impossible to know which high schools are 'the best' in the nation. Determining whether different schools do or don't offer a high quality of education requires a look at many different measures, including students' overall academic accomplishments and their subsequent performance in college, and taking into consideration the unique needs of their communities."

I called John Chambers, superintendent of the Byram Hills district in New York and a leader of the letter-writing group. He agreed that the data we sought was public information, and that he and other superintendents would provide it if we insisted. I told him we believe that we serve not superintendents, but readers, and they wanted to see the list. Chambers said OK, but could we let readers know about the attempted boycott? I said I thought that was a great idea.

Here are the districts whose superintendents endorsed the letter:
New York: Ardsley, Bedford, Blind Brook-Rye, Brewster, Bronxville, Byram Hills, Chappaqua, Dobbs Ferry, Greenburgh/North Castle, Hewlett-Woodmere, Katonah-Lewisboro, Mamaroneck, Mt. Pleasant-Cottage School, North Shore, Ossining, Rye Neck, Scarsdale, Spackenkill, Tuckahoe, Valhalla.
New Jersey: Montclair, Montgomery, Tenafly, Verona.
Connecticut:Darien, Simsbury, Stonington, Wilton.
Illinois:Decatur #61, Deerfield/Highland Park #113, Evanston, Glenbrook #225, Lincoln-Way #210, New Trier #203, Oak Park and River. Forest.
Massachusetts: Amherst-Pelham, Masconomet, Wayland.

I understand where they are coming from. I love talking to them about the issue. The majority of schools still refuse to let all students who want to work hard into their AP courses. But the numbers who have opened those courses are growing, as the NEWSWEEK list shows, and each year more and more principals and superintendents write me to say they are glad they decided to change their policy.

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I teach two different AP science courses and I absolutely agree that it is a good idea for high school students to take AP courses to help them understand the challenges they will face in college. Students come back and tell me how well my classes have prepared them for college work. However, I hear that from both students who chose to take the AP exam and those who did not. While AP classes are excellent preparation for college, there is nothing about the AP exam itself that helps students prepare for college.. I personally neither encourage nor discourage students from taking the exam. However, our AP coordinator is trying to force our students to take the exams. I am convinced that the recent emphasis on taking the exam is coming directly from those who stand to benefit financially from it: The College Board. Indeed, I wonder if Newsweek receives funding from the College Board to publish your findings as yet another way to bamboozle students into taking the exams. Our AP teachers are coming back from College Board meetings telling students that colleges are less likely to admit them if they take an AP class and then don't take the exam. One of our teachers didn't believe that and took it upon himself to contact a variety of college admissions' officers. They all said that they did favor students who took AP courses but did not penalize those who chose not to take the exam. My recommendation is that you create an index based upon the number of students taking AP courses, not the exam. I understand your objection to that (some teachers discourage kids from taking the exam), but using your index is merely promoting exams to enrich the College Board who has a clear financial interest in promoting the exams.

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Posted By: debrn92 @ 05/30/2008 12:18:06 PM

I disagree for the most part with your indicators. I am a teacher in the Palm Beach County School system, and I can assure you that we do not belong in the ranks of top schools. You must count grades since I know for a fact, that the schools practically harass the parents & students into enrolling in AP courses even when it is not in the student's best interest, just so they can pad the numbers. Our school's passing rate is less than 30%. As usual, the most significant factors are disregarded in the interest of political correctness
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Posted By: susanhorsman @ 05/29/2008 4:01:28 PM

How did a school like Yonkers get a better rating than Rye,Scarsdale etc?Why was a school like New Canaan High in Ct. not even ranked....I just don't understand what purpose this serves...
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Posted By: picp @ 05/28/2008 9:39:48 PM

I teach two different AP science courses and I absolutely agree that it is a good idea for high school students to take AP courses to help them understand the challenges they will face in college. Students come back and tell me how well my classes have prepared them for college work. However, I hear that from both students who chose to take the AP exam and those who did not. While AP classes are excellent preparation for college, there is nothing about the AP exam itself that helps students prepare for college.. I personally neither encourage nor discourage students from taking the exam. However, our AP coordinator is trying to force our students to take the exams. I am convinced that the recent emphasis on taking the exam is coming directly from those who stand to benefit financially from it: The College Board. Indeed, I wonder if Newsweek receives funding from the College Board to publish your findings as yet another way to bamboozle students into taking the exams. Our AP teachers are coming back from College Board meetings telling students that colleges are less likely to admit them if they take an AP class and then don't take the exam. One of our teachers didn't believe that and took it upon himself to contact a variety of college admissions' officers. They all said that they did favor students who took AP courses but did not penalize those who chose not to take the exam. My recommendation is that you create an index based upon the number of students taking AP courses, not the exam. I understand your objection to that (some teachers discourage kids from taking the exam), but using your index is merely promoting exams to enrich the College Board who has a clear financial interest in promoting the exams.