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Good luck if you come here. We have great schools, a wonderful library, and a totally small-town sububurban feel.
Elmhurst is a nice town, but be aware that the Elmhurst 205 school district isn't very strong academically. They report that 92% of their students continue on to college after graduation, but only 30% are adequately prepared to successfully complete first year college-level courses according to ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks (source: Daily Herald).
Even community colleges (such as Elgin Community College and Harper College) require higher scores than the ACT Benchmarks to enroll in 101-level (first year) college courses. For example, ACT's Benchmark for English is 18, but Elgin Community College requires a 20 or higher in English to enroll in ENG 101; ACT's Math Benchmark is 22, but ECC requires a 23 or higher in Math to enroll in Math 101.
For pete's sake when you look at the distribution of Math scores from even the "best in the State" Lincoln Park High School you are going to find a whole bunch of kids that won't make the cut for the cited community college courses: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=re...odli_kR_md8DgQ
(it is page 12 of 18 in the pdf)
It should be clear that to anyone that follows the above member's posts that they have some personal vendetta against Elmhurst D205.
The town values education greatly. There is a raw teacher::student ratio in the elementary schools of 13:1. Community Profiles
York HS that has large number of National Merit students: http://www.lwvelmhurst.org/observerschool102207.pdf (broken link)
As even the poster states: 92% of kids going on to college
I have no doubt that the above poster will trot out the tired Daily Herald "analysis" of speciously compiled data from schools only within their arbitrarily defined "primary circulation area" but I have no desire to drive that publication's clicks any higher.
The OP asked about Asian Indians in Elmhurst, that was answered.
The above poster uses every mention of Elmhurst to bash its schools. I call FOUL...
It should be clear that to anyone that follows the above member's posts that they have some personal vendetta against Elmhurst D205.
It would seem that you are the one who has lost objectivity and has become emotionally involved. My interest in the matter is to contradict misleading information.
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The town values education greatly. There is a raw teacher::student ratio in the elementary schools of 13:1. Community Profiles
That was never in dispute.
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York HS that has large number of National Merit students: http://www.lwvelmhurst.org/observerschool102207.pdf (broken link)
Large compared to what? Hinsdale Central has 39 National Merit students from a smaller enrollment. Lyons Township has 45. Naperville 203's two high schools have 47 National Merit Semifinalists. Elmhurst's one high school has 8 NM Semifinalists. There's more examples, but you probably already know that.
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As even the poster states: 92% of kids going on to college
Only 30% are adequately prepared. Students who do not meet college course prerequisites must take non-credit remedial classes.
The ACT College Readiness Benchmark percentage is determined by ACT scores. The US News college readiness index is determined by AP Exam scores. You can't compare the two and claim they're similar, they're completely different.
Furthermore, because York HS did not meet the US News criteria to be recognized as a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal winning high school, it isn't even included in your link.
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I have no doubt that the above poster will trot out the tired Daily Herald "analysis" of speciously compiled data from schools only within their arbitrarily defined "primary circulation area" but I have no desire to drive that publication's clicks any higher.
You are free to find proof that any of the Daily Herald's findings, including the ACT College Readiness Benchmark percentages among their circulation area's schools, is inaccurate. If you can prove the data is false, have them retract it.
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The OP asked about Asian Indians in Elmhurst, that was answered.
The above poster uses every mention of Elmhurst to bash its schools. I call FOUL...
I was responding to Lori56's assertion that Elmhurst 205 has great schools. They're not great; they're slightly above the suburban average - which is perfectly OK. But people who are not familiar with the area may need to consider the fact that they may need to supplement their children's education outside of what Elmhurst's schools offer in order to help them reach academic goals that extend beyond the high school level.
If you consider this to be 'bashing,' your best course of action is to work to improve the academic rigor and educational results of Elmhurst's schools - essentially making them 'bash-proof.'
In the meantime, I personally recommend any of the Illinois Silver Medal winning high schools because they:
1) Serve all their students well by achieving performance levels in reading and math on state tests that exceed statistical expectations, given their relative levels of student poverty
2) Serve the least advantaged student groups well by producing proficiency rates on state tests for black, Hispanic, and economially disadvantged students that exceed state averages
and
3) Provide a broad group of students with effective access to a college-level curriculum, as measured through participation and performance on Advanced Placement Exams.
I am sure you have helped people Informed consent. Its just a bit off putting as you never seem to post anything on the burbs unless someone mentions Elmhurst. Its like you monitor this forum for someone to mention Elmhurst and you only post about Elmhurst schools and warning that they are not very good. I have to wonder if you are a disgruntled ex employee or something. Surely, Elmhurst schools are no where near the bottom of suburban schools or worthy of this constant mission of yours. It is a wonderful town.
I have some real problems with rankings of some the schools in the USN survey, mostly because I believe the criteria for inclusion in the top ranks is too easily manipulated by schools that rely too heavily on selective admissions/magnet programs.
I further believe that if the authors of that survey truly want to provide on-going incentives to schools to improve in all areas they must provide details in each category where the school scored strongly or poorly; such data would also be very useful to parents wishing to find the best school for their student -- some schools undoubtedly do a much better job of fostering achievement across racial/economic lines while others may spend more effort getting a smaller group of students prepared for the most competitive colleges. These are not value-neutral decisions and have implications beyond the districts' boarders.
I think it is highly misleading to state that an entire district is "not strong academically". The implication is that such a district is somehow lacking for nearly all students. I categorically reject that argument. If one wishes to cite a survey as evidence that may state many schools in general ought to do a better job of rigorously preparing more students for college I can whole heartedly support such a far reaching philosophy. I do not believe that any such evidence has been presented that suggests any one school in DuPage county is more in need of addressing such a short coming.
I further would not unilaterally recommend ANY organizations' rankings of schools -- there are several schools on the USN list that are in gold category that I would have grave reservations of any parent selecting unless they were well apprised of the uniqueness of those schools. Finally, there are many schools in the silver category that I would recommend against for almost all students who have any alternative whatsoever...
I am sure you have helped people Informed consent. Its just a bit off putting as you never post anything unless someone mentions Elmhurst. Its like you monitor this forum for someone to mention Elmhurst and you only post about Elmhurst schools.warning that they are not very good. I have to wonder if you are a disgruntled ex employee or something. Surely, Elmhurst schools are no where near the bottom of suburban schools or worthy of this constant mission of yours. It is a wonderful town.
Yes, Elmhurst is a wonderful town. And as Chet has previously posted in another thread, Elmhurst's intergovernmental relationships, cooperation, and support of each other (school district, park district, city, etc.) are hugely beneficial to a high quality of life.
It just also so happens to be that for whatever reason, Elmhurst residents more than the residents of any other Chicago suburb seem to claim that the schools are excellent or great without really knowing the facts or how their schools compare to others.
I have a hard time believing that if Elmhurst's residents knew there were educational quality problems in their schools, they would find that acceptable - especially since there seems to be an expectation of excellence (which is a good thing, btw! ), given the claims of such that regularly pop up on the forum.
Note that I never said Elmhurst's schools were near the bottom. They're slightly better than the suburban average. That doesn't make them horrible. But, it doesn't make them adequate to prepare 92% of their students for college, either. Parents should heed that.
I post in other C-D forums, but I do tend to stick with education as a topic in general since it is my passion and my profession (though not in pre-K-12).
Many of the schools in Elmhurst are excellent. A handful have some real challenges. This is a problem that Unit Districts face more than smaller, more segmented districts. Note U46, LisleU202, North Chicago U187, Westmont U201 and Chicago U299 ALL perform significantly less well than the combination elementary and high school districts which they border. I would argue that this is due to the inherent challenges that arise in vastly different time frames for MOST elementary and high school schools and the inability of most Unit districts to respond with adequate resources. Any advantage unit districts have regarding less administrative overhead and coordination is generally lost to other districts that CAN focus resources for much better performance.
While education may be your passion, from where I sit a particular dislike of Elmhurst D205 seems more obvious.
I sincerely hope that the portion of your profession that deals with education is NOT is in the shaping of non-biased educational leaders or even in shaping minds that will eventually have to make their own decisions...
I have some real problems with rankings of some the schools in the USN survey, mostly because I believe the criteria for inclusion in the top ranks is too easily manipulated by schools that rely too heavily on selective admissions/magnet programs.
That's why I recommend the Silver Medal schools. The Chicago suburban Silver Medal schools, I believe, are not selective admissions/magnet programs - but feel free to correct that if it's not true. Stevenson HS, the only suburban Gold Medal school would be a good choice, too.
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I further believe that if the authors of that survey truly want to provide on-going incentives to schools to improve in all areas they must provide details in each category where the school scored strongly or poorly; such data would also be very useful to parents wishing to find the best school for their student -- some schools undoubtedly do a much better job of fostering achievement across racial/economic lines while others may spend more effort getting a smaller group of students prepared for the most competitive colleges. These are not value-neutral decisions and have implications beyond the districts' boarders.
All schools that qualified for Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal recognition had to be successful at fostering achievement across racial/economic lines or they would not have met the US News criteria. The very best, the Gold Medal winners, did both - fostered achievement across racial/economic lines and provided a broad group of sudents the highest level of preparation for competitive colleges. This is explained in detail in the expanded methodology:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/highschools/methodology.pdf (broken link)
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I think it is highly misleading to state that an entire district is "not strong academically". The implication is that such a district is somehow lacking for nearly all students. I categorically reject that argument. If one wishes to cite a survey as evidence that may state many schools in general ought to do a better job of rigorously preparing more students for college I can whole heartedly support such a far reaching philosophy. I do not believe that any such evidence has been presented that suggests any one school in DuPage county is more in need of addressing such a short coming.
I disagree. There have been at least three evaluations by three different sources considering three different sets of data. All three found several suburban school districts lacking.
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I further would not unilaterally recommend ANY organizations' rankings of schools -- there are several schools on the USN list that are in gold category that I would have grave reservations of any parent selecting unless they were well apprised of the uniqueness of those schools. Finally, there are many schools in the silver category that I would recommend against for almost all students who have any alternative whatsoever...
For academic strength, those Silver Medal schools meet the objective 'acid test.' For personal bias on other factors - that's an individual decision. Everyone should do their own research to find the best fit.
While education may be your passion, from where I sit a particular dislike of Elmhurst D205 seems more obvious.
You must not have read my earlier post. It explains why Elmhurst's schools, in particular, seem to have garnered a disproportionate amount of objective, comparative appraisal.
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I sincerely hope that the portion of your profession that deals with education is NOT is in the shaping of non-biased educational leaders or even in shaping minds that will eventually have to make their own decisions...
Why? Do you not like it when people objectively evaluate factual data and make decisions with which you do not agree? It seems you are the one who does not want informed minds to make their own decisions.
My professional capacity involves evaluation and policy. I thought that was kind of obvious...
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