[121804]

Florida has 7 high schools ranked in the top 25 in the nation

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/site/newsweek/?GT1=9951 (broken link)

[JayCT]

I know there is a reason that rating schools this way is flawed, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is. I believe it skews the results toward certain schools and away from others. If I do remember the exact reason I will post it. Anyone else remember reading this? Jay

[sunrico90]

here is the list by ranking in the state:

Stanton College Prep ** Jacksonville Fla. 9.204 11.000 98.100
5 Suncoast Community ** Riviera Beach Fla. 8.395 17.000 77.000
15 Paxon School for Advanced Studies ** Jacksonville Fla. 5.500 8.600 58.100
16 Eastside ** Gainesville Fla. 5.481 47.000 22.900
17 Dreyfoos School of the Arts West Palm Beach Fla. 5.362 7.000 42.000
20 Coral Reef ** Miami Fla. 5.162 31.700 63.700
22 Center for Advanced Technologies St. Petersburg Fla. 5.053 19.000 27.900
26 Hillsborough Tampa Fla. 4.911 54.000 39.000
36 Pensacola ** Pensacola Fla. 4.571 60.300 32.800
37 Atlantic Community ** Delray Beach Fla. 4.544 31.000 53.000
39 C. Leon King Magnet ** Tampa Fla. 4.511 43.100 90.000
43 Lincoln Park Academy ** Fort Pierce Fla. 4.345 30.000 32.000
54 Spruce Creek ** Port Orange Fla. 4.131 13.400 n/a
64 H.B. Plant Tampa Fla. 3.845 25.000 48.900
65 Cocoa Beach ** Cocoa Beach Fla. 3.833 15.000 34.000
66 St. Petersburg ** St. Petersburg Fla. 3.812 26.000 20.000
67 Fort Myers ** Fort Myers Fla. 3.810 22.000 34.900
68 MAST Academy Miami Fla. 3.800 30.000 59.300
78 Nease ** St. Augustine Fla. 3.563 2.000 58.000
79 Miami Palmetto Miami Fla. 3.561 17.000 45.400
86 Cypress Creek ** Orlando Fla. 3.498 40.000 27.900
94 Buchholz Gainesville Fla. 3.422 21.000 47.200
106 Lincoln Tallahassee Fla. 3.272 15.000 21.100
122 Rickards ** Tallahassee Fla. 3.088 45.000 26.000
128 Coral Gables ** Coral Gables Fla. 3.011 40.000 n/a
142 Seminole ** Sanford Fla. 2.909 35.000 29.700
160 University ** Orlando Fla. 2.838 37.000 23.100
167 Bartow ** Bartow Fla. 2.794 46.000 10.900
171 Spanish River Boca Raton Fla. 2.772 8.000 43.000
191 Lake Brantley Altamonte Springs Fla. 2.651 15.000 35.200
197 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Parkland Fla. 2.630 7.000 35.900
201 Choctawhatchee ** Fort Walton Beach Fla. 2.621 14.000 20.900
223 South Fork ** Stuart Fla. 2.547 24.000 22.700
226 Nova Davie Fla. 2.528 n/a 37.700
229 Winter Park ** Winter Park Fla. 2.518 22.000 32.300
236 Lake Mary Lake Mary Fla. 2.492 19.700 34.100
264 Olympia Orlando Fla. 2.376 15.000 27.000
272 School for Advanced Studies Miami Fla. 2.354 15.000 55.000
289 Fort Walton Beach Fort Walton Beach Fla. 2.325 15.000 24.900
290 Lawton Chiles Tallahassee Fla. 2.321 5.000 41.400
303 Edgewater Orlando Fla. 2.298 35.000 20.500
307 West Shore Melbourne Fla. 2.271 6.000 n/a
312 Rutherford ** Panama City Fla. 2.263 33.700 36.000
333 Miami Killian Miami Fla. 2.207 30.000 26.800
335 Leon Tallahassee Fla. 2.203 13.000 42.800
340 Oak Ridge none Fla. 2.185 53.000 5.800
341 Deland ** Deland Fla. 2.185 29.000 34.000
352 Bloomingdale Valrico Fla. 2.170 17.400 32.400
359 Winter Springs Winter Springs Fla. 2.156 18.000 40.200
364 Anderson School of the Arts Jacksonville Fla. 2.149 9.000 29.600
375 Stranahan Fort Lauderdale Fla. 2.123 70.000 27.800
376 Chamberlain Tampa Fla. 2.120 51.000 18.000
384 South Miami Miami Fla. 2.110 50.000 25.900
394 Vanguard ** Ocala Fla. 2.079 40.000 79.000
413 Niceville ** Niceville Fla. 2.050 9.000 40.100
414 Dwyer Palm Beach Gardens Fla. 2.050 25.000 9.600
417 Lyman Longwood Fla. 2.034 31.000 30.500
427 Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale Fla. 2.011 47.000 25.000
434 Design & Architecture Miami Fla. 1.992 39.000 100.000
440 Timber Creek Orlando Fla. 1.978 26.000 23.200
441 Palm Harbor University ** Palm Harbor Fla. 1.977 7.000 17.800
455 Bartram Trail Jacksonville Fla. 1.949 2.000 24.600
458 Lake Howell Winter Park Fla. 1.944 18.000 35.500
464 Barron Collier Naples Fla. 1.934 13.000 40.100
470 Seabreeze Daytona Beach Fla. 1.929 17.000 19.000
473 Oviedo Oviedo Fla. 1.923 12.100 37.000
476 Land O' Lakes ** Land o' Lakes Fla. 1.921 14.000 n/a
484 Southeast ** Bradenton Fla. 1.899 45.700 n/a
501 Riverview ** Sarasota Fla. 1.872 18.000 n/a
506 East Lake Tarpon Springs Fla. 1.863 9.800 30.400
525 Ridgeview Orange Park Fla. 1.834 17.000 20.000
533 Bay Panama City Fla. 1.824 32.000 10.200
536 Freedom Tampa Fla. 1.821 32.000 n/a
567 Gainesville Gainesville Fla. 1.771 44.000 20.100
615 Braulio Alonso Tampa Fla. 1.716 35.000 15.500
630 Martin County Stuart Fla. 1.698 19.000 29.400
641 Plant City Plant City Fla. 1.682 30.000 18.600
658 Belleview Belleview Fla. 1.660 33.000 n/a
712 Gateway ** Kissimmee Fla. 1.582 56.000 11.900
722 Gaither Tampa Fla. 1.572 20.000 24.800
760 American Miami Fla. 1.529 47.000 10.500
762 Key West Key West Fla. 1.529 28.000 12.900
777 Mandarin Jacksonville Fla. 1.514 12.000 25.500
787 Satellite Satellite Beach Fla. 1.495 6.000 29.500
814 New World School of the Arts Miami Fla. 1.453 20.000 48.700
823 Dr. Phillips none Fla. 1.445 29.000 27.700
846 Merritt Island Merritt Island Fla. 1.422 15.680 32.900
859 Tampa Bay Tech Tampa Fla. 1.410 48.000 19.600
951 Flanagan Pembroke Pines Fla. 1.299 24.000 22.000
956 Sickles Tampa Fla. 1.295 11.000 26.900
957 Sebastian River ** Sebastian Fla. 1.295 38.000 30.000
992 Boone Orlando Fla. 1.253 25.000 23.100
1022 Fernandina Beach Fernandina Beach Fla. 1.225 13.000 23.000
1038 Celebration Celebration Fla. 1.208 43.000 18.900
1057 Wharton Tampa Fla. 1.194 42.000 23.100
1073 Fletcher Neptune Beach Fla. 1.179 10.000 22.200
1084 Robinson Tampa Fla. 1.169 46.000 11.400
1099 Southwest Miami Miami Fla. 1.153 60.000 20.300
1117 Freedom Orlando Fla. 1.130 n/a n/a
1152 Braddock Miami Fla. 1.095 42.000 n/a
1157 Springstead Spring Hill Fla. 1.085 36.600 18.300
1164 Pembroke Pines Charter Pembroke Pines Fla. 1.079 15.700 26.700
1208 Plantation Plantation Fla. 1.046 45.000 14.000
1219 Apopka Apopka Fla. 1.031 34.000 17.500
1223 Palm Beach Gardens Palm Beach Gardens Fla. 1.030 51.000 16.700
1232 Goleman Miami Lakes Fla. 1.025 48.000 18.100
1234 Mosley Lynn Haven Fla. 1.025 18.440 15.400

[PBCboy]

Yet the majority of the schools are still awful

[riveree]

I'd agree that the Jacksonville and St. Augustine schools listed are good schools.

Some, such as Stanton College Prep, select students to attend the school who are already outstanding, so it's not hard to keep an impeccable rep that way.

Others, such as Mandarin, are just regular public schools that do a good job.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by PBCboy

Yet the majority of the schools are still awful

Can you define your awful statement. These schools are an example of what can be done went students, teachers, and parents work as a team to achieve a common goal. The areas might not be the best, but our future leaders are developing their skills in this schools.

Tell us about each school and show proof....

Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2006 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 5 percent of public schools measured this way.

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

Can you define your awful statement. These schools are an example of what can be done went students, teachers, and parents work as a team to achieve a common goal. The areas might not be the best, but our future leaders are developing their skills in this schools.

Tell us about each school and show proof....

Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2006 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 5 percent of public schools measured this way.

I'm talking about the majority of the schools in Florida state, not on the list. Calm down.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by PBCboy

I'm talking about the majority of the schools in Florida state, not on the list. Calm down.

I do understand, but show proof for the rest of the state.... Is a very strong statement about the state....

[HockeyMom72]

Why are they lumping public schools, in with Private, Prep, and even, schools for the GIFTED????

[121804]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18754326/site/newsweek/ (broken link)

"Test scores, the usual way of rating schools, are in nearly every case a measure of parental wealth and education, not good teaching. Every study shows that if your parents fill their house with books, include you in conversations and take you to plays and museums, you tend to score well on standardized tests even if your school is not the best. So, with the help of some astute AP teachers, I developed a scale called the Challenge Index, which used each school's rate of participation in college-level tests like AP to indicate which schools were the most demanding and supportive of all students. I took the total number of AP tests (later adding International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests) taken each year and divided by the number of graduating seniors, so that big schools would not have an advantage over small schools. AP, IB and Cambridge were important because they were challenging (students could get college credit for good scores) and incorruptible (outside experts wrote and graded the exams). Just taking the course and the test mattered more than the score because even struggling AP students learned a great deal.

Readers are entitled to their own views of this rating system. The Challenge Index is journalism designed to serve readers, like the Dow Jones averages or baseball slugging percentages—not scholarship. The adjective "best" always reflects different values. "

Being a teacher, specifically a 7-12 teacher, I see things differently & think outside of the box. This author has devised his own system that I find interesting b/c he focuses on things many people have no concept of if they are not involved in education.

Some gifted schools are specifically for low-income students who had to apply to get into the school & the school is funded through the state. Specifically the high school in La Jolla. La Jolla is one of the richest cities in southern California. I didn't see any religious base schools on the list, so, in technical terms, all of the schools are "public" when it comes to "labeling" the schools. Private does not annotate religion all the time & anyone can go to a private school; private schools just require a test, application & do cost money. But, if one has the grades, they can get in. Many private schools offer excellent scholarship package. If a school has a religion classes, it cannot be labeled public or receive certain funding.

The majority of public schools in this country are awful. It was not posted to say how awesome Florida was nor was it posted so all the flaws could be pointed out, but to each their own. I just thought it was interesting that Florida had so many on the list, as did TX & CA.