2013 US News & World Report releases Best HS list (Seattle: magnet schools, universities)

[Inkpoe]

Search Washington High Schools | US News

According to list, Best in State:

1. International School - Bellevue School District (Nationally ranked #9)
2. International Community School - Lake Washington SD (Nationally ranked #22)
3. Newport HS - Bellevue SD (Nationally ranked #91)
4. Bellevue HS - Bellevue SD (Nationally ranked #125)
5. Friday Harbor HS - San Juan Islands SD (Nationally ranked #161)
6. Aviation HS - Highline SD (Nationally ranked #257)
7. Bainbridge HS - Bainbridge Island SD (Nationally ranked #274)
8. Interlake HS - Bellevue SD (Nationally ranked #282)
9. Garfield HS- Seattle Public Schools (Nationally ranked #300)
10. Vancouver School of Arts and Academics - Vancouver SD (Nationally ranked #357)

(The list goes on in the link)

The only one I'm surprised by is Friday Harbor HS and Vancouver; knew it was good, just not that good.

[jojo7]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Search Washington High Schools | US News

According to list, Best in State:

1. International School - Bellevue School District (Nationally ranked #9)
2. International Community School - Lake Washington SD (Nationally ranked #22)
3. Newport HS - Bellevue SD (Nationally ranked #91)
4. Bellevue HS - Bellevue SD (Nationally ranked #125)
5. Friday Harbor HS - San Juan Islands SD (Nationally ranked #161)
6. Aviation HS - Highline SD (Nationally ranked #257)
7. Bainbridge HS - Bainbridge Island SD (Nationally ranked #274)
8. Interlake HS - Bellevue SD (Nationally ranked #282)
9. Garfield HS- Seattle Public Schools (Nationally ranked #300)
10. Vancouver School of Arts and Academics - Vancouver SD (Nationally ranked #357)

(The list goes on in the link)

The only one I'm surprised by is Friday Harbor HS and Vancouver; knew it was good, just not that good.

Very surprised to see Bellevue HS not in the top 100. That's a first that I am aware. Interesting.

[BellevueNative]

That's the first time I've ever seen Friday Harbor on a list like this, and the first time I haven't seen ALL of the Bellevue High Schools in the top 100-200 (Sammamish HS is the only one missing above). I'm not saying that Friday Harbor isn't deserving, or that Sammamish should be higher. This list is getting a little ridiculous anyway, as the schools shift pretty radically from one year to the next and really the rankings are based only on the number of students taking AP tests. Also, the list is a mix of traditional public schools (like Bellevue and Garfield), special admittance schools (magnet schools and also lottery schools like BSD's International School) and charter schools (which we don't even have in this state yet).

ETA: I'd like to know why more schools aren't modeled after Bellevue's International School. It's a public school, not charter or magnet, and since students enter in 6th grade I doubt they're all that much more "gifted" than other kids. Whatever they're doing works. That school has been high performing and has received rave reviews from students, parents and educators since it opened. And they are a perfect example of how "teaching to the test" is an imperfect plan.

[jjinla]

I saw this, too, and wondering what happened to Mercer Island? The college readiness index was very low, which is surprising since I thought their claim to fame was something like 98%+ college bound.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by jjinla

I saw this, too, and wondering what happened to Mercer Island? The college readiness index was very low, which is surprising since I thought their claim to fame was something like 98%+ college bound.

I can only guess they didn't include MI-HS in the list. I did a search on MI-HS and they appeared to have their info on site. It looks like if they were included on the list, they would be #11 (base on the college readiness index).

[Seacove]

Friday Harbor? I've never seen Friday Harbor listed on any school list, that's interesting. Bellevue has been on top lists for years.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

I can only guess they didn't include MI-HS in the list. I did a search on MI-HS and they appeared to have their info on site. It looks like if they were included on the list, they would be #11 (base on the college readiness index).

I can't figure out why they (or BSD's Sammamish) weren't nationally ranked. Their stats weren't strong enough to get them very high on the list, but from what I can figure they should have been on the list. For comparison: Bellevue HS's AP participation rate is 89%, Mercer Island's is 50%; BHS' College Readiness score was 70.2, MIHS' was 45.8.

The only thing I can speculate on, based on the full judging criteria posted here, is that there is a disparity at MI and Sammamish when it comes to how well lower income and racial minority students are performing in comparison to their white students.

The criteria has changed this year vs past years, which I welcome. It used to be that they only took AP testing into consideration, which never seemed like a comprehensive measurement.

[jjinla]

I can see that for Sammamish, but MI doesn't really have much diversity.

Maybe someone from MI can speak to it, but if a place like Bellevue HS has 90% of the kids taking AP classes with some diversity, perhaps MI stepped up its curriculum to be AP for gen ed, and their actual AP is higher than that?

I can't speak as I haven't been there, but a college readiness index of 46 when they have the highest numbers of college bound kids (I've heard) is a disconnect. So they all go to college, but aren't prepared for it??

This list was always kind of crap anyway. The worst school in a state can have one charter program that admits 30 kids that perform exceptionally, and then the school shoots to the top of the list. Tell that to the other 1200 kids in the regular and often failing general program.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by jjinla

I can't speak as I haven't been there, but a college readiness index of 46 when they have the highest numbers of college bound kids (I've heard) is a disconnect. So they all go to college, but aren't prepared for it??

I don't know what's the deal with MI at all, but that whole issue you have with the college readiness? That does happen more than you think, too many HS students are going to college totally unprepared. And what's scary is that you see that 46 is "above average" for WA. Just going down the list, its when it hits close to 22 that it become "near average" for WA. Looking at the other state, it looks like you have that 20-30 range where it becomes "near average" for those states as well.

[jjinla]

Definitely...our current district didn't even rank in NY, yet we still had a 76 college readiness. Half the kids even in the average districts in the NE end up going to elite universities. It's crazy the difference in standards...I think maybe 1 or 2 kids in my HS went to an Ivy.