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Most years, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has more schools in the top 100 of both lists than any other school system in the country

rankings validate that the school system is “seeing the benefits of providing the academic support that allows our students to aim high and achieve at the highest levels.

But do the rankings really mean much?

I feel obliged to question the validity of the methods used to rank high schools.

for ignoring graduation rates and achievement gaps among socioeconomic and ethnic segments.

Mathews’ goal is to improve students’ academic preparation, especially in lower-and middle-income neighborhood schools. His solution is to expose more students to challenging course work, and he unapologetically describes his purpose as “advocacy as well as evaluation.

He says the Challenge Index’s key attributes make it the singular best measure of a school’s quality: It can be easily understood; it points directly to implementing positive change through rigorous course offerings; and it can be applied meaningfully to all schools—unlike quality evaluations based on traditional measures such as test scores, which, he says, are inherently biased toward schools in wealthier, upper-middle-class neighborhoods.

Walter Johnson Principal Christopher Garran

Critics

have attacked the Challenge Index for not effectively capturing what it purports to measure (school quality), in part because it doesn’t gauge student achievement, only the number of rigorous course exams taken.

Newsweek ranks schools based on the Challenge Index, which was developed by Washington Post education reporter (and Bethesda resident) Jay Mathews. A school’s Challenge Index score is the number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge tests taken by all students in a school year divided by the number of graduating seniors. (AP courses are well-known; IB and Cambridge also consist of rigorous courses for which students can receive college credit. Like AP, their standardized exams are graded by outside examiners.)

U.S. News’ approach

far more computationally complex

a school must do significantly better on standardized state English and math tests than statistically expected given its economic makeup; be in the top half of its state (approximately) in the performance of its minority students

“College Readiness” formula combines two components: the percentage of 12th-graders who had taken an AP or IB exam during or before their senior year; and the percentage who passed at least one exam—equivalent to an AP test score of 3 and an IB score of 4.

U.S. News project, cites three ways its methodology is superior: “We measure success [tests passed]—not just quantity of tests taken. We factor in how well schools do in serving economically disadvantaged students and minorities. And we recognize schools within their respective state.”

The U.S. News rankings have been attacked by education experts for intermixing highly selective “elite” schools, such as Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va.—currently their top-ranked school in the U.S.—with schools having open admissions

Unlike U.S. News, Mathews eliminates some academically elite schools, setting the cutoff at the level of the highest average SAT/ACT scores of any “normal enrollment” school in the country.

“It would be deceptive for us to put them [schools above this threshold] on this list [because] the Challenge Index has been designed to honor schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. It does not work for schools that have no, or almost no, average students.”

As of 2009, schools with AP exam pass rates lower than 10 percent (schools that would have made the list in previous years) have also been eliminated from the main Newsweek ranking. Most of these schools, which are typically located in low-income neighborhoods, have recently introduced their students to academically challenging courses as a form of “shock therapy.”

Just as the Challenge Index is too limited in its concept of best schools, the U.S. News procedures try to cover too much. The crux of the problem is combining three essentially different criteria (college readiness, overcoming economic disadvantage and minimizing ethnic group disparities) into one ranking. Schools that excel in one aren’t necessarily those that excel in the other(s). Some schools that do the greatest job of preparing their minority students might not have total-school achievement scores that are among the best. Other schools characterized by superlative overall college readiness might score only slightly above average relative to their economic profile. In trying to incorporate “economic disadvantage” and the reduction of ethnic group (minority) achievement gaps together with schoolwide high achievement, the U.S. News ranking risks confounding different educational objectives. Depth and breadth of performance, and exceeding expectations, should be reported separately, rather than conjoined. Separate rankings would be easier to understand, more informative and less disputable—although perhaps less likely to help sell magazines.

Several principals, including Whitman’s Goodwin, noted how nonacademic programs that help students succeed and are a huge part of some students’ lives (arts, music, sports, civic activities, etc.) are not examined.

comparing large and small schools can be misleading

eferring to the many qualitative features that go into making a great school, Doran says, “The rankings are measuring the brain of the school—not the heart of the school.”

KHAYELITSHA, South Africa — Seniors here at Kwamfundo high school sang freedom songs and protested outside the staff room last year because their accounting teacher chronically failed to show up for class. With looming national examinations that would determine whether they were bound for a university or joblessness, they demanded a replacement.

Post-apartheid South Africa is at grave risk of producing what one veteran commentator has called another lost generation, entrenching the racial and class divide rather than bridging it. Half the students never make it to 12th grade.

But South Africa’s schools also have problems for which history cannot be blamed, including teacher absenteeism, researchers say. And then when teachers are in school, they spend too little time on instruction. A survey found that they taught for a little over three hours a day, rather than the five expected

Many teachers complain bitterly about NCLB's emphasis on testing. Principals hate being labeled as failures. Superintendents say it wasn't adequately funded.

And many parents just view it as a toxic brand that isn't helping children learn.

Until states develop better assessments—which we will support and fund through Race to the Top—we must rely on standardized tests to monitor progress—but this is an important area for reform and an important conversation to have.

it places too much emphasis on absolute test scores rather than student growth—and it is overly prescriptive in some ways while it is too blunt an instrument of reform in others.

NCLB is that it doesn't encourage high learning standards. In fact, it inadvertently encourages states to lower them. The net effect is that we are lying to children and parents by telling kids they are succeeding when, in fact, they are not.

We don't believe that local educators need a prescription for success. But they do need a common definition of success—focused on student achievement, high school graduation and success and attainment in college.

In my view, we should be tight on the goals—with clear standards set by states that truly prepare young people for college and careers—but we should be loose on the means for meeting those goals.

They are simply not ready for college-level work when they leave high school.

Before we do, however, we want to hear from you. We want your input.

We don't need another study. We must stop simply admiring the problem. We need action.

And so the work of reauthorizing ESEA begins in states and districts across America—among educators and policy makers, parents and community leaders. This work is as urgent as it is important.

And yet we are still waiting for the day when every child in America has a high quality education that prepares him or her for the future.

Our shared goals are clear: higher quality schools; improved student achievement; more students going to college; closing the achievement gap; and more opportunities for children to learn and succeed.

Let's build a law that respects the honored, noble status of educators—who should be valued as skilled professionals rather than mere practitioners and compensated accordingly.

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Most industrialized countries have invested in major hydraulic infrastructure. Many developing countries have as little as 1/100th as much hydraulic infrastructure as do developed countries with comparable climatic variability.

Provide capacity-building incentives to states to increase teacher supply and retention, as well as education research.

Authorize states to provide diverse learning options and assessment options, including the option for growth models, determined at the state level.

Congress should refrain from establishing any federal mandates to ensure maximum state and local flexibility to create aligned systems.

A one-size-fits all approach to high school learning is outdated and does not support the diverse needs of students. Governors encourage Congress to support state and local policies and programs that expand the availability of learning opportunities for students of all ages including, but not limited to, virtual school options, service learning, internships, apprenticeships, programs addressing out-of-school-youth, alternative learning programs, and the availability of financial aid.

Maximum flexibility in designing state accountability systems, including testing and other indicators of achievement, is critical to preserve the unique balance involving federal funding, local control of education, and state responsibility for system-wide reform. Maximum flexibility in state testing will help improve how students are assessed for academic proficiency and postsecondary readiness. Flexibility should include the option for states to utilize growth measures to assess student performance.

Teachers and school leaders must receive the professional support and training needed to provide students with the skills necessary to compete in a global society, particularly in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), literacy, and international and language studies.

High schools must compete with other more highly compensated professions for teachers and school leaders, especially in the areas of mathematics and science. Congress should continue to support and expand state-administered pilot projects on performance pay, especially in critical shortage areas or hard-to-staff schools.

Federal policies should encourage—not discourage—promising state efforts in dual enrollment programs that permit students to obtain high quality college-level credits or provide the opportunity to earn an industry-recognized credential while still in secondary school.

Congress also should support state efforts that encourage more students to enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework and pay for student AP testing.

The use of a high school graduation rate in any accountability framework must serve as an incentive to promote state and local innovation to better engage and educate every student, and count all students who graduate from high school. Congress and the Administration should work closely with governors to ensure the proper use and application of the NGA Voluntary High School Graduation Rate.

Governors believe that career and technical education programs and career and technical education teacher certification requirements should reflect the need to better integrate career and academic curriculum and integrate career professionals into the career and technical education teaching corps.

We've been doing schools the same way in this nation for 150 years, so if we don't step up, then nothing is going to change

bility ranks among the top barriers blocking the nation's children from receiving the best education possible.

A board-certified, 16-year teaching veteran, Ursetta, 38, believes the lack of teacher flex

Although they follow school board-approved curriculum and standards, instructors can easily rearrange lessons to "make better sense for the kids" -- making better connections between different subject matter, Ursetta said.

The lack of quality school leadership is a big reason that experienced teachers leave their schools,

Dubbed Race to the Top, the program is essentially a contest pitting states against each other to win a share of $4.35 billion in grant money from congressional stimulus legislation.

To qualify for Race to the Top, the rules call on states to create "data systems" linking student success with teacher performance.

National Education Association

members fear it opens the door to measuring teacher performance by how students score on tests.

"What we're really against is using a single [student ] test on a single day" to assess teacher performance, said NEA Executive Director John Wilson. "What we're more accepting of are multiple indicators," and teacher performance "observed in classroom should count as the major part of evaluation."

many teachers are reacting coolly to Race to the Top because they "feel like it's too much like No Child Left Behind and are looking for something different.

Race to the Top also aims to give a boost to charter schools -- special public schools that are given more independence in order to encourage innovation.

Only the prekindergarten and kindergarten classes at Harlem Success schools — about 450 students — attend the farm trips, though the state exams do not begin until third grade. Students in other grades go on nature-related field trips, like camping, that help acquaint them with unfamiliar settings, Ms. Moskowitz said.