America's Best High Schools? Newsweek's annual list of the country's best high schools is out. See (Minneapolis: school rankings, college)

[ozzie679]

What Are America's Best High Schools?Newsweek's annual list of the country's best high schools is out. See how they rate more than 1,600 schools & where your school ranks.

[golfgal]

This shows up here every year. If you read the qualifications for this "ranking" it is based on the number of kids that take AN AP or IB test-so taking any Minneapolis schools, it is based on the handful of kids in the IB program and has nothing to do with the other 1500 kids in the school, over half of which don't graduate from high school. The 'top' schools on that list require ALL of their students to take an AP test--heck, they don't even have to PASS the test to get ranked, just test. It is a garbage list really.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by golfgal

This shows up here every year. If you read the qualifications for this "ranking" it is based on the number of kids that take AN AP or IB test-so taking any Minneapolis schools, it is based on the handful of kids in the IB program and has nothing to do with the other 1500 kids in the school, over half of which don't graduate from high school. The 'top' schools on that list require ALL of their students to take an AP test--heck, they don't even have to PASS the test to get ranked, just test. It is a garbage list really.

They don't have much respect for Minnesota.

[ozzie679]

115 Southwest ** Minneapolis MN 3.784 34 32.3
156 St. Louis Park ** St. Louis Park MN 3.513 31.6 53.4
175 Edina Edina MN 3.384 10 53
285 Minnetonka ** Minnetonka MN 2.837 6 53.1
445 Eastview Apple Valley MN 2.403 11 52.6
516 Central ** St. Paul MN 2.255 53 28
585 Mahtomedi Mahtomedi MN 2.147 3 55
618 Robbinsdale Armstrong Plymouth MN 2.085 24 32.3
728 Lakeville North Lakeville MN 1.933 5 42.2
757 Simley Inver Grove Heights MN 1.881 23 27.8
773 Como Park St. Paul MN 1.854 68 20.5
827 Irondale New Brighton MN 1.779 26 37.8
833 Patrick Henry Minneapolis MN 1.774 74 30.5
904 Wayzata Plymouth MN 1.696 12 39.6
974 Stillwater Area Stillwater MN 1.62 10 35.4
1006 South St. Paul South St. Paul MN 1.585 30 33.3
1063 Eden Prairie Eden Prairie MN 1.524 11 29.4
1111 North North St. Paul MN 1.472 29 19.8
1133 Hopkins Minnetonka MN 1.446 29 36.8
1149 Eagan Eagan MN 1.437 8 31.2
1224 Mounds View Arden Hills MN 1.359 8 40.4
1267 Robbinsdale Cooper ** New Hope MN 1.32 43 34
1269 Moorhead Moorhead MN 1.319 76 26.6
1389 Prior Lake Savage MN 1.21 9 23.5
1426 Sibley West St. Paul MN 1.181 26 28.3
1506 Chaska Chaska MN 1.101 12 26
1572 Apple Valley Apple Valley MN 1.044 24 21.4
1607 Brainerd Brainerd MN 1.013 32 21.4
1615 Mankato West Mankato MN 1.007 16 36.

[Kid Cann]

Yeah right, Mounds View is 1224? That school is extremely exceptional. It truely is a great High School.

[Kebinminn]

Originally Posted by golfgal

This shows up here every year. If you read the qualifications for this "ranking" it is based on the number of kids that take AN AP or IB test-so taking any Minneapolis schools, it is based on the handful of kids in the IB program and has nothing to do with the other 1500 kids in the school, over half of which don't graduate from high school. The 'top' schools on that list require ALL of their students to take an AP test--heck, they don't even have to PASS the test to get ranked, just test. It is a garbage list really.

It doesn't seem to be a good way to rank them.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Kebinminn

It doesn't seem to be a good way to rank them.

I was reading on another board and someone that lives in Texas was saying that the #1 school, Texas G/T or something like that, is a magnet school within another school and represents about .04% of that school population--that is really worth reporting.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by golfgal

This shows up here every year. If you read the qualifications for this "ranking" it is based on the number of kids that take AN AP or IB test-so taking any Minneapolis schools, it is based on the handful of kids in the IB program and has nothing to do with the other 1500 kids in the school, over half of which don't graduate from high school. The 'top' schools on that list require ALL of their students to take an AP test--heck, they don't even have to PASS the test to get ranked, just test. It is a garbage list really.

I agree that there are problems with the list, but please, let's not start in with the Minneapolis public schools bashing yet again -- the Minneapolis public schools offering IB have far more than just a "handful" of students in the program. My former high school, Southwest, for example (number #115), has a student body of 1600, with about 1/3 of them in the IB program. Currently typically about a quarter of the seniors are attempting the full IB diploma. In other words: not the entire student body, certainly, but not exactly a "handful," either. I also think you are mixing up district percentages with individual school numbers; certainly not half of Southwest students drop out. The reality is that the kids from SW are also pulling from the same demographics as are the other, wealthier districts that have schools high on the list. Obviously I'd like to see all kids succeed, and have some problems with so much regional segregation, but these rankings do, I think, pretty clearly demonstrate that these schools are working for many kids.

For schools like those in districts like Minneapolis (or any of the suburbs that have similar problems in terms of a huge disparity between students, as opposed to those districts where most students are coming in from roughly the same socioeconomic level and background) these lists are useful in the sense that they do show if a school has the ability to provide a quality education to those students who seek it out. Many of the city schools are fairly heavily tracked. Most parents who seek out school rankings or research this sort of thing are going to be the ones who have the kids who are not in danger of dropping out and who will be in the college-bound track, so these numbers are probably more relevant to them than are general overall compiled school test scores.

I agree, though, that looking at a school through only tests or rankings gives only a very superficial overview, and should primarily be used as a starting point for further research. But yes, I admit, it's great to see Southwest at the top of the Minnesota list. Go Lakers!

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I agree that there are problems with the list, but please, let's not start in with the Minneapolis public schools bashing yet again -- the Minneapolis public schools offering IB have far more than just a "handful" of students in the program. My former high school, Southwest, for example (number #115), has a student body of 1600, with about 1/3 of them in the IB program. Currently typically about a quarter of the seniors are attempting the full IB diploma. In other words: not the entire student body, certainly, but not exactly a "handful," either. I also think you are mixing up district percentages with individual school numbers; certainly not half of Southwest students drop out. The reality is that the kids from SW are also pulling from the same demographics as are the other, wealthier districts that have schools high on the list. Obviously I'd like to see all kids succeed, and have some problems with so much regional segregation, but these rankings do, I think, pretty clearly demonstrate that these schools are working for many kids.

For schools like those in districts like Minneapolis (or any of the suburbs that have similar problems in terms of a huge disparity between students, as opposed to those districts where most students are coming in from roughly the same socioeconomic level and background) these lists are useful in the sense that they do show if a school has the ability to provide a quality education to those students who seek it out. Many of the city schools are fairly heavily tracked. Most parents who seek out school rankings or research this sort of thing are going to be the ones who have the kids who are not in danger of dropping out and who will be in the college-bound track, so these numbers are probably more relevant to them than are general overall compiled school test scores.

I agree, though, that looking at a school through only tests or rankings gives only a very superficial overview, and should primarily be used as a starting point for further research. But yes, I admit, it's great to see Southwest at the top of the Minnesota list. Go Lakers!

A couple years ago the Star Tribune ran a story about the IB program in Minneapolis, it was referenced here at the time, feel free to look it up and at that time there were 99 kids district wide in the IB program-pretty much a handful in each school.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I was reading on another board and someone that lives in Texas was saying that the #1 school, Texas G/T or something like that, is a magnet school within another school and represents about .04% of that school population--that is really worth reporting.

Hmm... I'd investigate that more closely before jumping to any conclusions. And even if true in TX, is that true of any of the schools on the MN list? It's not true of Southwest, and I doubt it's true of the next schools on this year's list (SLP, Edina, then Minnetonka).

From their explanation of the rankings:

"We do not include any magnet or charter high school that draws such a high concentration of top students that its average SAT or ACT score significantly exceeds the highest average for any normal-enrollment school in the country. This year that meant such schools had to have an average SAT score below 1,975 or an average ACT score below 29 to be included on the list."