100 Best High Schools In America Ranked (Three Schools From Virginia Make Top 100)

WKMG TV NEWS ^ | 11-30-2007

[Cagey]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. News & World Report says America's best high school is in Virginia, one of three to make it in the magazine's top 100.

The magazine's first-ever high school rankings give the top honor to Fairfax County's elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Using K-12 data research and analysis business run by Standard & Poor's, the magazine put high schools in 40 states through a three-step analysis. U.S. News and World measured how each school's students performed on state tests, adjusting for student circumstances. Then it evaluated how well each school's disadvantaged students did. Lastly, they looked at whether the school was successful in providing college-level coursework.

The magazine's analysis considered more than 18,500 high schools in 40 states.

[muawiyah]

Your typical TJ graduate could have probably begun attending college and done quite well and just skipped TJ all together.

[dawn53]

Well, I went to school in Florida, so that explains it. I wasn’t really aiming for accuracy though...I was using “new math” and estimating, LOL.

[muawiyah]

Fairfax County (which provides most of the "feed" into TJ, the number one school on the list) doesn't really have any disadvantaged people.

It's kind of a wealthy place ~ usually number one or two in the country (per capita).

[DoughtyOne]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. News & World Report says America's best high school is in Virginia, one of three to make it in the magazine's top 100.

The magazine's first-ever high school rankings give the top honor to Fairfax County's elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Using K-12 data research and analysis business run by Standard & Poor's, the magazine put high schools in 40 states through a three-step analysis.

Only 40 states?

U.S. News and World measured how each school's students performed on state tests, adjusting for student circumstances.

Student circumstances?

Then it evaluated how well each school's disadvantaged students did.

Why was it necessary to break them out into a different category?

Lastly, they looked at whether the school was successful in providing college-level coursework.

I'd rather they provide good solid high-school level coursework.

The magazine's analysis considered more than 18,500 high schools in 40 states.

Then the overall conclusions are in doubt.  With 20% of the nations high schools not considered, what value does the conclusion provide?  There may have been many good schools not evaluated, and the standing of the schools in the 80 perscentile affected considerably.  A school coming in first may have come in tenth or worse with all schools considered.

I guess if this is the best they can do, it's at least interesting in passing.

[A_Former_Democrat]

“Then it evaluated how well each school’s disadvantaged students did.”

And this is relevant because . . . ?

If one is to rank the top US public HS, then doesn’t this by definition eliminate or downgrade public HS with non-”disadvantaged” students?

Just another way to politically correct the list?

Note to the editors: Yes, Highland Park HS (Dallas) is one of the top public HS. Much better than anything DISD has to offer. To rank any DISD school ahead of HP is a joke. People don’t move into Dallas for the public schools. They move OUT because OF the public schools.

[hoyaloya]

Bogus study. Lots of “adjustments” to account for “circumstances.”

Another way of saying making sure the list looks like elites on the coasts think it should look. If the liberal intelligentsia can create the idea that it’s schools are the best, their students turn into the smart people . . . and the cycle of the intelligentsia perpetuates itself.

[LWalk18]

Looking at the scores of “disadvantaged” students at these to see if they are are higher than the average for “disadvantaged” students in a given states is an attempt to see whether a top schools is actually better on its own merits rather than on its demographics alone. For example, if poor black kids at Top 100 High School score 50 points higher than poor black kids in the rest of the state, then the school is responsible for that increase and therefore should be considered a top school.

[ml/nj]

Fairfax County (which provides most of the "feed" into TJ, the number one school on the list) doesn't really have any disadvantaged people. It's kind of a wealthy place

I've been there. (Scarsdale is wealthy too.) Walter Williams' grandkids probably count as "disadvantaged."

ML/NJ

[Vermonter]

When I attended Brooklyn Tech, there were 6000 students.... all male

[muawiyah]

Algore grew up just "one of the guys" down on the block.

SeewhatI'msayin!@

[Erasmus]

Well, whoever compiled list most likely did not go to one of the schools on the list!

[Erasmus]

[...]the State of VA tourism board had come up with a catchy phrase which appeared on tens of thousands of bumper stickers. “Virginia is for Lovers”.

So that's what it said! I'm kind of nearsighted. I thought it said,

"Virgins is for Lovers."

[sphinx]

there are actually 6 in the top 100 from the suburban DC area— both MD and VA.

Not surprising. Washington is the best educated metro area in the country and probably the intellectual capital as well, frightening as that thought may be.

[Daffynition]

STUDENTS Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

STUDENTS Average Loser High School, Anywhere, USA

[MarkL]

Oh,oh — Missouri flunked out. Guess I’ll eat some worms!

Hey, KCMO Public School District can't even get state accreditation! I recall reading somewhere that less that 40% of entering freshman will actually graduate from the KCMO school district.

Mark

[Dionysius]

St. Louis schools had their accredidation stripped from them. Of course it was called racist by the Post-Dispatch. Hmmm — do you think, if not for racism, they would have made the top 100?

[xsmommy]

i have never seen a list ranking private HSs.

[xsmommy]

seems to be the fave name of many Catholic schools : ) i know of several.

[xsmommy]

charter schools can be public. it specifically says in the article that it only considered public HSs.

[US_MilitaryRules]

The water pic looks like it is in India! Poor Indians.