Joe Nathan column -- Most of Minnesota’s best 39 public high schools enroll fewer than 500 students, according a recent US News and World Report report. While any such list is open to debate, the magazine is not an advocate of suburban, urban rural, district or charter public schools.
Their sometimes surprising key conclusions:
• Twenty-three of Minnesota’s best 39 public high schools are rural, ranging from Ada-Borup and Adrian to Red Rock Central, Rushford Peterson and Winne-Mac.
• Nine of the best public high schools are in suburbs: This includes Chaska, Edina, Hopkins, Irondale, Mounds View, Roseville and Wayzata in this list. There also are two charter public schools: Eagle Ridge in Eden Prairie and Math and Science Academy in Woodbury.
• Seven of the highest rated high schools are in Minneapolis, or St. Paul. Four of are charter public high schools (Community of Peace, Great River, Higher Ground and Hmong Academy in St. Paul). Three of them are district high schools (South and Patrick Henry in Minneapolis, Central in St. Paul). The complete list is at http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/minnesota
These selections say several things.
First, there are great high schools all over Minnesota.
Second, the list helps challenge the, “which is better, district or charter public schools” debate. Thirty-three of the thirty-nine are district high schools; six are charter public high schools. Charters enrolled about 32,000 students last year, less under 4% of Minnesota’s roughly 818,000 k-12 population. Yet 15% of the 39 “best Minnesota high schools are charters – 85% are district high schools. So charters are over-represented. But the majority of “best” high schools are part of a district. The district or charter label isn’t enough to judge a school.
Finally, the vast majority of outstanding schools are small. A few enroll more than 1,000 students. But most have less than 500.
The magazine says selection is “based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all 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.”
The magazine analyzed 21,786 public high schools in 48 states plus the District of Columbia. It used three steps, beginning with the percentage of students rated proficient in statewide reading and math tests. US News and World Report also examined what percentage of students performed “ better than statistically expected for the average student in the state.”
The second step compared each school’s math and reading proficiency rates for disadvantaged students with the statewide results for these student groups and then selected schools that were performing better than this state average.
Finally, schools making it through the first two steps were judged nationally on the final step, college-readiness performance, using Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate test data, depending on which program was largest at the school. The magazine used a company named “School Evaluation Services,” which developed the methodology and compiled the analysis.
This list won’t end debates. But studying these schools can help many others improve.
Joe Nathan, a former public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Their sometimes surprising key conclusions:
• Twenty-three of Minnesota’s best 39 public high schools are rural, ranging from Ada-Borup and Adrian to Red Rock Central, Rushford Peterson and Winne-Mac.
• Nine of the best public high schools are in suburbs: This includes Chaska, Edina, Hopkins, Irondale, Mounds View, Roseville and Wayzata in this list. There also are two charter public schools: Eagle Ridge in Eden Prairie and Math and Science Academy in Woodbury.
• Seven of the highest rated high schools are in Minneapolis, or St. Paul. Four of are charter public high schools (Community of Peace, Great River, Higher Ground and Hmong Academy in St. Paul). Three of them are district high schools (South and Patrick Henry in Minneapolis, Central in St. Paul). The complete list is at http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/minnesota
These selections say several things.
First, there are great high schools all over Minnesota.
Second, the list helps challenge the, “which is better, district or charter public schools” debate. Thirty-three of the thirty-nine are district high schools; six are charter public high schools. Charters enrolled about 32,000 students last year, less under 4% of Minnesota’s roughly 818,000 k-12 population. Yet 15% of the 39 “best Minnesota high schools are charters – 85% are district high schools. So charters are over-represented. But the majority of “best” high schools are part of a district. The district or charter label isn’t enough to judge a school.
Finally, the vast majority of outstanding schools are small. A few enroll more than 1,000 students. But most have less than 500.
The magazine says selection is “based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all 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.”
The magazine analyzed 21,786 public high schools in 48 states plus the District of Columbia. It used three steps, beginning with the percentage of students rated proficient in statewide reading and math tests. US News and World Report also examined what percentage of students performed “ better than statistically expected for the average student in the state.”
The second step compared each school’s math and reading proficiency rates for disadvantaged students with the statewide results for these student groups and then selected schools that were performing better than this state average.
Finally, schools making it through the first two steps were judged nationally on the final step, college-readiness performance, using Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate test data, depending on which program was largest at the school. The magazine used a company named “School Evaluation Services,” which developed the methodology and compiled the analysis.
This list won’t end debates. But studying these schools can help many others improve.
Joe Nathan, a former public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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