Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We don't want to compare apples and oranges. By nature, these two schools are different in student population. Westminister has all students from rich families, while students at Walton high are from rich or average families with high IQ which money can't buy. Students who are accepted by Westminister are not automaticly accepted by Walton. Walton's IB program is for top students which Westminister doesn't have. SAT scores, particulary SAT II scores reflect true quality of students in high school study. A school may be good with money, but the school may not have the best student population.
Walton does not have an IB program. Or a magnet program. Or any special program. You pick whatever classes you want and that's that.
There's no acceptence/denial at Walton. If you live within district boundaries you go to Walton, if you live outside district boundaries you don't.
Walton is, as far as I can recall, the most populous public school in north metro Atlanta and being open to everyone within the considerable zoning it's not true that everyone at Walton is a genius.
It is true that Walton has a higher percentage of high IQ students than normal because of all the transplants who move into the district to send their gifted children to the school. But Westminster is pretty advantaged too - while a Buckhead estate and rich parents doesn't guarantee a brainy student, students from rich families tend to be perform above average.
As for the schools themselves though - yeah complete apples and oranges on so many fronts. Walton has so many atheist students Westminster administration might die from cringing so hard.
This is a classic argument that can be used both ways. If you want to do a fair comparison, it is only fair to compare top 20% of Walton students to top 20% of Westminster students. Then the outcome, I would imagine, would be reversed. Because Westminster has a smaller student body, you'd have to factor in the percentage, not absolute numbers.
This is not my area of expertise. I just like seeing posts with numbers because people tend to believe in them when the same set of numbers can also support the opposing view.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GF72
No offense, it's a extremely good school and they spend a hell of a lot of money on their students (more than any other school in the country), but it's not a fact that it's the absolute greatest school ever conceived. What is a fact is that more Westminster students end up at UGA and Virginia than anywhere, two colleges than any given public school in north metro Atlanta send over twice as many students to per year, or three times as many in the case of UGA. Westminster offers 26 AP exams. Walton High, a public school, offers 32 AP courses. Last year Westminster students took 900 AP exams; Walton students took over 2000 AP exams. Westminster posted an average SAT score of 1380 out of 1600 with around 200 test takers. The top 20% of Walton, which corresponds to around 250 test takers, posted an average SAT score of 1387. The top 10% of Walton test-takers, which is over half of the entire SAT-taking population of Westminster, posted an average of 1520 out of 1600. Westminster had a higher percentage of students passing AP Exams. Westminster also had a higher average amount of AP Exams taken per student. I'm not saying one school is better (that's an opinion), but you can't just flat out say Westminster is the best in everything no questions asked because as you can see, there are many different aspects of what makes up a good school. And these are just a bunch of test statistics, we haven't even looked at extracurriculars, community involvement, sports, music, and all sorts of stuff, or even the many other private schools like Paces.
This is a classic argument that can be used both ways. If you want to do a fair comparison, it is only fair to compare top 20% of Walton students to top 20% of Westminster students. Then the outcome, I would imagine, would be reversed. Because Westminster has a smaller student body, you'd have to factor in the percentage, not absolute numbers.
This is not my area of expertise. I just like seeing posts with numbers because people tend to believe in them when the same set of numbers can also support the opposing view.
That would make sense if we were comparing two public schools or two private schools, but Westminster is private, smaller, and is not open to everyone. Walton is the biggest high school in metro Atlanta as far as I know and is open to everyone. The reason I compared the entirety of Westminster to the top 20% of Walton (which still puts Walton ahead in terms of number of people) is because that evens the playing field. It's not really fair to compare the student population of one of the most elite private schools in the country to over 2,600 people which aren't filtered out in any way to where you are only left with the serious students. On top of that, every year for the last seven years 100% of Walton students have taken the SAT, which makes the fact that Walton's overall SAT average (including everyone in the school) is still the highest in the state for public schools and over 200 points above national average.
Besides, if you were to compare the top 10% at Walton to the top 10% at Westminster, that would be like comparing almost 100 students to 10 students. Top 10% at Walton last year was 1520 out of 1600, which is nearly perfect. I'm not sure what the top 10% at Westminster scored (I doubt it was that high), but even if it was around a 1500 that's only like 10 kids. For 100 kids to score in the 1500 range from a single high school is pretty ridiculous, even if that is "only" the top 10%. I don't have detailed charts of Westminster's SAT reports, but I'm very certain that if you were to compare the top 20% of Walton and Westminster then Westminster would be higher but if you compare the top 10% than Walton would be higher.
You also have to take into account differing philosophies. For example, at Westminster you are encouraged to only take an AP Exam if you are sure you are going to do well, whereas at Walton you are encouraged to take every AP Exam regardless of how you think you will do, since even if you don't pass you will have a head start at college from the experience.
I don't think there's any comparison between Westminster and Walton. Westminster has the highest test scores in the South (more National Merit Scholars than the rest of GA combined), the most money of any non-boarding school in the US, students from the most prominent families, the most athletic state championships in GA history (not including private school only state championships), produces the best alums, and a jaw-dropping campus in the middle of Buckhead.
Walton is a nice public school but just can't compete.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GF72
That would make sense if we were comparing two public schools or two private schools, but Westminster is private, smaller, and is not open to everyone. Walton is the biggest high school in metro Atlanta as far as I know and is open to everyone. The reason I compared the entirety of Westminster to the top 20% of Walton (which still puts Walton ahead in terms of number of people) is because that evens the playing field. It's not really fair to compare the student population of one of the most elite private schools in the country to over 2,600 people which aren't filtered out in any way to where you are only left with the serious students. On top of that, every year for the last seven years 100% of Walton students have taken the SAT, which makes the fact that Walton's overall SAT average (including everyone in the school) is still the highest in the state for public schools and over 200 points above national average.
Besides, if you were to compare the top 10% at Walton to the top 10% at Westminster, that would be like comparing almost 100 students to 10 students. Top 10% at Walton last year was 1520 out of 1600, which is nearly perfect. I'm not sure what the top 10% at Westminster scored (I doubt it was that high), but even if it was around a 1500 that's only like 10 kids. For 100 kids to score in the 1500 range from a single high school is pretty ridiculous, even if that is "only" the top 10%. I don't have detailed charts of Westminster's SAT reports, but I'm very certain that if you were to compare the top 20% of Walton and Westminster then Westminster would be higher but if you compare the top 10% than Walton would be higher.
You also have to take into account differing philosophies. For example, at Westminster you are encouraged to only take an AP Exam if you are sure you are going to do well, whereas at Walton you are encouraged to take every AP Exam regardless of how you think you will do, since even if you don't pass you will have a head start at college from the experience.
I don't think there's any comparison between Westminster and Walton. Westminster has the highest test scores in the South (more National Merit Scholars than the rest of GA combined), the most money of any non-boarding school in the US, students from the most prominent families, the most athletic state championships in GA history (not including private school only state championships), produces the best alums, and a jaw-dropping campus in the middle of Buckhead.
Walton is a nice public school but just can't compete.
YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG.
Northview High School alone had more National Merit Scholars than Westminster.
And Northview has to take every kid whose parents can afford an $800 apartment in the district, not get to choose from thousands of fabulously wealthy kids from the entire metro area.
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT.
You give Westminster it's well deserved reputation as ill-informed and very self-impressed.
Given Westminsters ability to recruit from the entire metro area, and it's self-proclaimed superiority the percentage of National Merit Scholars should be more like 100% than the actual 20%. But Westminster has to admit the slacker scions of the Buckhead wealthy in order to maintain the pristine landscaping.
I'll take the weeds, the diversity, and the education at the great public schools of Atlanta.
Northview High School alone had more National Merit Scholars than Westminster.
And Northview has to take every kid whose parents can afford an $800 apartment in the district, not get to choose from thousands of fabulously wealthy kids from the entire metro area.
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT.
You give Westminster it's well deserved reputation as ill-informed and very self-impressed.
Given Westminsters ability to recruit from the entire metro area, and it's self-proclaimed superiority the percentage of National Merit Scholars should be more like 100% than the actual 20%. But Westminster has to admit the slacker scions of the Buckhead wealthy in order to maintain the pristine landscaping.
I'll take the weeds, the diversity, and the education at the great public schools of Atlanta.
Northview High School alone had more National Merit Scholars than Westminster.
And Northview has to take every kid whose parents can afford an $800 apartment in the district, not get to choose from thousands of fabulously wealthy kids from the entire metro area.
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT.
You give Westminster it's well deserved reputation as ill-informed and very self-impressed.
Given Westminsters ability to recruit from the entire metro area, and it's self-proclaimed superiority the percentage of National Merit Scholars should be more like 100% than the actual 20%. But Westminster has to admit the slacker scions of the Buckhead wealthy in order to maintain the pristine landscaping.
I'll take the weeds, the diversity, and the education at the great public schools of Atlanta.
I know this thread is really old but I just wanted to clear up the facts. According to the most recent stats provided on its website, Northview produced just 18 National Merit Finalists in one year. According to the most recent stats provided on its website, Westminster produced 28 National Merit Finalists (out of a class of fewer than 200)--this was a major down year. Still, you're incorrect. Please try to get your facts straight. Google the numbers for yourself if you don't believe me.
The Walker School is a very good school. Mt. Paran Christian Academy is another good choice. It's located in neighboring Kennesaw. Plus, these are great deals compared to the in-town schools that have gotten incredibly pricey in the last fifteen years.
Does anyone have any information on Holy Spirit Prep School in Sandy Springs?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Westminster v. Walton
