It could be that the high ranking of some government schools has nothing to do with the school. It merely takes credit for the hard work of after-schooling done by the families.
It has been my anecdotal observation that academically successful children who are institutionalized for the schooling do the same amount of homework at the kitchen table as my homeschoolers did all day. Their parents share similar value and home habits as mine.
Conclusion: Schools don't teach. Kids learn in the home. The institutional school merely provides a curriculum for the child to follow in the home.
Its attracting loads of immigrants from Korea and India for them. Obviously parents demands help drive the school systems quality. In Baltimore city most parents don't give a crap.
HCPSS posted this last year.
The Howard County Public School System has been named among the best school districts in the nation, and the top district in the state of Maryland, according to rankings released this week by Niche.com, an education and community analysis firm.
The system received ‘A’ grades or better for academic rigor, student diversity and quality of teachers. Rankings are based on a mathematical formula that weighs institutional and system demographic data and survey responses from more than four million respondents.
Several HCPSS elementary, middle and high schools were singled out as among the best public schools in Maryland in the state-based rankings. Waverly, Triadelphia Ridge, Clarksville, Pointers Run, Centennial Lane, Hammond, Manor Woods, Northfield and St. Johns Lane elementary schools were ranked among the ten best in the state. Ellicott Mills, Dunloggin, Burleigh Manor, Patapsco, Lime Kiln, Mount View, Clarksville, Hammond and Folly Quarter were ranked among Maryland’s ten best middle schools, and Marriotts Ridge, River Hill and Mount Hebron made the top ten list for high schools.
The complete rankings are available at https://k12.niche.com/.