- Students performed "better than statistically expected for the average school in the state," based on the state's standardized tests for reading and math (and given the percentage of "economically disadvantaged" students);
- A school's "least advantaged" students performed better than similar students in the state;
- Students were "college ready," as measured by an index of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) test data.
Although this methodology has some problems, such as that state standardized test scores are often more reflective of parental educational level (and the degree to which parents operationalize the value they place on education) than of how good any particular school is, a bigger issue is the entire notion of ranking schools.
Regardless of methodology, when schools are ranked, it's easy to make the mistake of thinking that schools higher up on the list are "better" than ones lower down (or absent altogether). The problem is, the rankings are grossly oversimplified measures of schools' quality. Ranking processes differ, but all use only a limited number of variables (such as reading and math test scores) to arrive at their conclusions.
Unfortunately, many parents take these rankings very seriously and use them, sometimes exclusively, to choose their children's schools. Doing so, however, ignores or downplays many other factors that comprise a school's quality—and suitability.
A far better use of the rankings (if they're to be used at all) is as a starting point for researching schools. By viewing them in conjunction with academic offerings, teacher ratings on such sites as ratemyteachers.com, student and parent reviews on greatschools.net, college placement statistics, and in-person visits, parents can obtain a much fuller picture of a school than is revealed by its standing on a ranking of high schools. The most important factor, however, will always be one that no report or website can tell you, and that's which school will be a good fit for your particular child.
