WAHS makes Newsweek list of best high schools
For the sixth consecutive year, Western Albemarle High School has made Newsweek's list of America's Top Public High Schools. The list is based on the ratio of Advanced Placement tests taken by its students to the number of total students at the school, and WAHS finds itself ranked 1,179th in the country on this year's list. This represents a tumble of sorts for the Warriors, having come in the top 500 schools five out of the last six years. Also falling in the rankings was Charlottesville High School, whom Newsweek ranked at #529 last year, only to miss this year's list completely. The top ranking Virginia high school was Arlington's HB-Woodlawn, coming in at #36.
5 comments
This list made http://detentionslip.org ! Check it out for all your juicy school news.
Hey, what's up WAHS and CHS 500's to 1,179 and off the list, guess we've got more than just a drop-out problem in the schools. Can someone explain this ?
Is going from top 500 to 1179 something to brag about? I am sure admin will blame cuts but those don't kick in until next year.
The county has set up Western as its own "public private" school. The boundaries could be changed to include, share the load for more at-risk, needy students. That won't happen because the county wants Western just as it is. Monticello High can never make the list, unless the boundaries are changed.
The Newsweek methodology is so questionable that I have a hard time believing that it's any indicator of school quality whatsoever. The rankings are determined by the number of students taking AP, IB and/or Cambridge tests. It's not even the number who score well on these tests, just the number who take it. It's great when schools offer many advanced classes, but that is influenced by school size and budget, and the number of students who sign up for the courses can be influenced by many external factors. Also, simply calling a class "advanced placement" and then getting the kids to all fork over money to take the test is little indicator of what content is being taught or how it's being taught.
WAHS is relatively affluent, with just 7.8 percent of students receiving subsidized lunches, according to Newsweek. I'm sure the fact that many of these kids' parents work for UVA and have at least a bachelor's degree has more of an influence on them taking AP tests than anything the county is doing. The list might give kids bragging rights, but I would not assume that your kids are receiving a sub-par education just because their school isn't included.