Thackerville High School

Thackerville High School

Thackerville High School

Posted on: December 05, 2011 - 7:27 pm
by Admin

A reasonable person would assume that for a high school to get on Newsweek's Best High Schools List the criteria would be a combination of the following:

  • Percentage of student body to graduate
  • Standardized test scores
  • ACT average
  • SAT average
  • Percentage of students going on to college
  • Stiff graduation requirements

Wrong!

Michael Winerip of The New York Times has studied the issue and found that the above is not considered in Newsweek's formula. If the above criteria does not determine a best school, then what would?

AP Classes

Advanced Placement classes are exams constructed by The College Board, the SAT people. Students select classes from a list and take the class at their local high school or college. At the end of the semester, students take the official AP test. They may receive a score of 1 to 5. Most colleges expect to see a score of 3 or higher. Ivy League colleges usually accept only a 5.

Many high schools have large numbers of students taking college level classes and getting college credit for them. Does Newsweek take these into account? No, only AP classes.