According to the new U.S. News & World Report ranking of best high schools, Butler High is the best in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and third in North Carolina.
The online rankings look at whether schools performed better than average on state exams, for all students and for black, Hispanic and low-income students. Schools that passed that cut were rated on a college readiness index, based on participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. (Read details of the rating process here.) The magazine writes that ratings are "based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college-bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators."
It's a more complex calculation than the recent list by Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews, which ranked Northwest School of the Arts as the CMS school with the highest participation in AP and IB classes. Northwest didn't earn a ranking in the U.S. News list. Butler was No. 1188 in the nation and sixth in CMS on Mathews' list.
Number-crunching never tells all there is to know about a school, but lists are hard to resist. U.S. News collected data on 21,000 public high schools, including charters and magnets. Forty-nine N.C. schools earned gold or silver medals, with Durham School of the Arts topping the state's list. Here are schools in the Charlotte area that garnered silver medals (there were no golds), with their ranking in North Carolina and nationally (check the list here). Schools are in CMS unless otherwise noted:
Butler: 3 / 642.
North Meck: 8 / 1005.
Salisbury High (Rowan-Salisbury): 10 / 1097.
East Meck: 13 / 1259.
Newton-Conover High (Newton-Conover): 14 / 1282.
St. Stephens High (Catawba County): 25 / 1669.
Olympic Biotech: 30 / 1841.
West Lincoln High (Lincoln County): 34 / 1966.
Kings Mountain High (Cleveland County): 37 / 2028.
Lincolnton High (Lincoln County): 39 / 2068.
East Rowan High (Rowan-Salisbury): 44 / 2178.
Foard High (Catawba County): 47 / 2209.
In South Carolina, Fort Mill's Nation Ford High was 10th in the state and No. 1188 in the nation, with Fort Mill High at 14 / 1623.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Latest list says Butler's best in CMS
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41 comments:
OMG!,
No Ardrey Kell, Providence, Hough, Myers Park, South Meck.
A list for every occasion.
No Project Lift,
just Project LIST.
Speaking of project lift - Can somebody tell me if the $55 million given by LIFT is offset, and all those extra millions the county gives those scholls is being returned to other "Not so lucky" CMS Schools - or do they keep our extra millions AND Project LIFT's millions? Serious question.
I guess mommy and daddy's money can't even buy their kids' school onto the list....what a shame.
What a joke--check out the actual list for CMS schools. Providence,one of only two CMS high schools with "higher than NC" average student to teacher ratio, has by far the highest percentage of students passing AP tests yet is ranked at 23rd for CMS high schools. Not sure why their proficiency levels for math and English are missing but I'm fairly certain they would be higher than most if not all schools. I know, I know--Providence is a low poverty school so of course it cannot be ranked as one of the best high schools on anyone's list. Incidentally, one surely has to question how the list evolved when noting that low poverty Ardrey Kell is ranked 7th, yet has the same student teacher ratio as Providence, is 20 points lower than Providence in AP pass rate, and also does not have pass rates for math and English available. Have you no questions at all about the legitimacy of this list, Ann?
So glad to see that ardrey kell and providence AREN'T on the list. They don't deserve to be. While there are some great teachers there, over all quality is down and student issues are up. Bunch of spoiled kids and parents who don't take responsibility for them. Way to go BUTLER!
This list is an absolute JOKE. North Meck, THUG CENTRAL, one of the best schools? PLEASE! Biotech at Olympic? Who is paying the editors to make this list. Biotech is the joke of schools at Olympic. Biotech and their principal are a joke.
Note that 8:19 did not knock Butler or any other school, just pointed out apparent discrepancies in how the list was determined.
Bring in LIFT to Butler that will fix things. Ann , also research the recent CMS purchase of iPads for students. They could have bought other MFG devices for about 70% less ,but chose to do business with the Gates Foundation. Call that a conflict so get after it and write a real story.
Remember, you can make any list what you want it to be.
It depends on the criteria.
You can whittle enough measures down to make West Charlotte #1 on a list somewhere.
STOP CMS BONDS NOW!.... This list can be whittled down....
LOL.
I have been teaching at this school since it opened. Wonderful staff and students- so hard working. It is well deserved. It is fourth high school in my 27 year career and by far the best.
What would be interesting to note is how the calculations are done. AK, Providence, etc. can't make the list the way it is calculated as the Free/Red Lunch % isn't high enough. Actually reading HOW the stats are compiled is telling. The focus and scope is so incredibly narrow that the "ranking" can't be considered an actual TRUE ranking. I'm not sayint Butler isn't doing a fine job, but the way this "ranking" is done is not representative of the entire school.
Yes, the rankings definitely are based on a sort of political correctness. However, it's interesting that according to last year's state test results overall minority and ED scores for Providence are much much better than for those groups overall in CMS or the state. For instance test scores for E.D. kids at Providence are at 94%; statewide and CMS are about 71%. And remember we're talking about a school with the fewest teachers per pupils in the district. I'm not saying that Butler and other schools aren't doing an admirable job and aren't great schools. It just seems bizarre that Providence is ranked so low, solely, I suppose, because it doesn't have enough E.D. or minority kids. Who cares if it's doing a great job with the students it has.
How about a list that ranks high schools based on the number of graduates who complete college in 5 years, successfully serve in the military, or complete vocational training that leads to a job. In other words, how about a list that shows how students fare AFTER they graduate - 5, 10 years down the road? Wouldn't a list like this be fare more reveling in gaging high school success rates?
50-60% of students who start college drop out.
Alicia
BB4L
BB4L. My pop-quiz for today?
FUN FACTS:
1. Students Study the Most - Davidson (13)
2. Class Discussions Rare - NC State (6)
3. Best College Library - Duke (3)
4. Is This a Library? - Catawba College (16)
5. School Runs Like Butter - Davidson (6), Elon (16)
6. Happiest Students - UNC/Chapel Hill (13)
7. Most Beautiful Campus - Elon (11)
8. Least Beautiful Campus - NC State (9)
9. Most Homogeneous Population - Wake Forest (13)
10. LIttle Race/Class Interaction - Wake Forest (5)
11. Town-Gown Relations are Strained - Duke (7)
12. Students Pack the Stadiums - UNC/Chapel Hill (5), Duke (10)
13. Best College Newspaper - UNC/Chapel Hill (2), Duke (12)
14. Major Frat and Sorority Scene - Wake Forest (13)
15. Jock Schools - Wake Forest (7), UNC/Chapel Hill (13), Duke (17)
16. Reefer Madness - No NC honorable mentions
17. Dodgeball Targets - No NC honorable mentions
18. Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree Huggers - No NC honorable mentions
Alicia
OK, I was stumped at first, but I'm guessing Butler Bulldog 4 Life?
Alicia,
4. Explains the guvna.
12. ECU by far.Purple Cannons, Pirates of the Carribean
18. UNC-A, Brevard, Warren Wilson
Next List.
Best "politically correct" list of "best" high schools:
1. US News & World Report.
AKA (US Snooze and Whirled Report).
Now, let's give everyone a participation trophy...
I think it's the "and for black, Hispanic and low-income students" that's the kicker here, folks.
And we all know what that means.
We'll just outsource "smart" to the Chinese and Indians in the 21st century.
We've already given up trying.
2:46,
After reading the three online pages of how they came to their conclusions, I determined that if they had added a few eggs and four sticks of butter, then baked the data at 350 degrees for one hour, they would have themselves one kick-ass pound cake
Wiley,
Maybe they should use the same methodology for teachers "Pay for Performance" evaluations.
After all, they're probably looking for similar politically corrected BS results.
2:20
I didn't realize Warren Wilson was in NC.
Upon review, Warren Wilson made the Reefer Madness list at #2 - ahead of the Univ. of Colorado - Boulder, University of Vermont, University of California - Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, Wesleyan University, Hampshire College, and the Univ. of Oregon. Guilford College in Greensboro came in at #16.
Who knew?
Alicia
Wiley,
The pound cake is probably OK but I'd think twice about the brownies at Warren Willson.
Alicia
It is ALL because the Administration at Butler is head and shoulders above the Adminstration (and teachers) at AK and Providence.
Wait until the pay for performance starts rewarding the staff at Butler THOUSANDS of $$,$$$$ more than AK and Providence!
Let the fireworks start now.
I love PfP algorithms!
4:08,
How long did it take to make some of the previous administrators, coaches, and dubious transfers disappear before administrative nirvana arrived in that part of Mecklenburg County? Just Asking?
NIRVANA is PROJECT LEFT
Who will join the few and pround, best and brightest. Let your voice finally be heard. Facebook CMS nazis are welcome to participate. More information to come!
The list is telling, considering it was so important for Providence's principal to toute that school's #1 ranking not so long ago. The school is polarizing, smart kids at one end, special at another, and the great pool of everything else lost in between. Read the "Great Schools" reviews and you will see what happens to a school that pushes for the numbers above all else. Hope you are reading this, Mrs. Harrill...
All Harill cares about is her bonus and the next zone superintendant job. Just like 90% of administation in CMeS. All of their backs are still red from slapping during the BROAD PRIZE.
Young white boys please apply there.
Butler is Best
All this without Project Lift or any new CMS Bond money being spent on this school. How is this so?
Oh no. Now another consultant and survey to find out how in the world this could have happened without the BofE and MOrrison spending the money on them.
$121,534
To take Providence High School from #1 to not even on the list.
Nice work!
To 8:26 Anonymous- North Meck IB students are some of the brightest and hardest working high school students in any local high school- private or public. They don't deserve such ill informed and disrespectful comments.
North Meck?
HO HAA
Hough is the new Providence and AK. They are the new king of the mountain. They make all the admin and teachers look inept on the southeast suburbs.
Clever 9:02 p.m. - Harrill's salary. Don't give her all the credit, though. There are plenty of self-serving members of that administration and teaching staff to share in the fall. It's a shame the solid, committed and caring teachers who try to work well with students have to put up with a principal who can't handle the nasty people employed at that school.
North Meck is a great school. It’s a shame people can’t see that. We have the International Bachelorette program, and tons of other classes like cosmetology, and horticulture. It’s a shame that people assume only the affluent schools in CMS produce good students. Go Vikings!
Princeton Review's #1 and #2 "Schools to Watch". (in the something-or-other division). Elon and High Point.
Princeton Review's #1 CMS "Schools to Watch".
Project LIFT?
Curious to know how many responders herein are actually teachers. Disparaging comments are not helpful, nor is jealousy.
Who wants to be a teacher !!!!!!
CMS, based upon the scientific evidence, the efforts of dedicated teachers and the money spent on school facilities will have a greater impact, and education will be more rewarding when, collectively, teenagers, parents, teachers, and school leaders start to take sleep issues seriously. In the universal language of school reports: We must do better for our teenage students. Change the 7:15am HS start time.
10 Years Ago
Providence was the best High School in CMS and the state. Now 3 principals later it is not even on the list. Ask yourself why?
Does the school need a Project Lift?
To determine the validity and usefulness of this ranking, one must first grasp the method used. Understand that the ranking does not compare absolute performance of students across schools. Rather, it examines "college-readiness performance – using Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data as the benchmarks for success." But here's the key factor: to qualify for this final ranking, a school must past a two-step elimination. First, its students must do better than "statistically expected" for the average student in the state, a performance computed for each school based on its number of economically disadvantaged students (likely based on free/reduced lunch numbers?). Second, the performance of each school's least-advantaged students (defined as black, Hispanic and low-income) must exceed the average for similar students in the state. So essentially, the preliminary elimination stage of the ranking process uses one comparison standard (or "expectation") for "advantaged students" and a different standard for "disadvantaged students" to decide which schools qualify for the last college-readiness comparison. This litmus test is likely the reason the ranking data does not include Algebra and English proficiency numbers for traditionally high-performing CMS schools like Providence and Ardrey Kell--as they have low numbers of "disadvantaged students"--and why these schools do not show in the ranking despite their relatively high "college-readiness" numbers. Here's a question for parents of motivated, high performing, college-bound students: would you rather your child attend a high school with high SAT scores, EOC scores, and AP scores/pass rates, or would you prefer them to attend a highly ranked school based on some contrived, demographically adjusted, performance comparison that is difficult to comprehend? This performance ranking is essentially meaningless.
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