[CSPS] The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. High Schools

[Katherine Kelly]

Thanks Arvind.  This is exciting news.

CSPS has, I think, been trying--successfully--to help A&M Consolidated 
achieve excellence by safeguarding our teachers and our curriculum against 
extremist agendas, by supporting the concept and mission of public 
education (now fully under attack in Austin), and by recognizing and 
promoting an educated awareness among parents about the "hot button" issues 
("creation science," "abstinence-only education," and "America-first 
history") that have undermined attempts to teach rigorous, critical courses 
in science, health, and history, among other subjects.  In some respects, 
we've been a behind-the-scenes organization, quietly fostering a 
progressive and rigorous approach to the content and the delivery of 
knowledge.  In this sense, I think we may deserve a small bit of credit for 
Consol's success.  If only Kansas could rid itself of ideologues, they 
might regain some of the credibility they've lost in recent years.

Kate

At 04:27 PM 5/11/2005 -0500, Mahajan, Arvind wrote:
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>Newsweek has just now published its ranking of top U.S. high schools. This 
>list and the related article can be accessed at
>
><http://g.msn.com/0MN2ET7/2?http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1>http://g.msn.com/0MN2ET7/2?http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1 
>
>
>CSISD is ranked # 447.
>
>According to the article, there are 27,468 high schools in the U.S. 
>Newsweek acknowledges that assessing such a large and diverse group of 
>schools is daunting. To come up with its Best High Schools List, Newsweek 
>used a ratio, the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International 
>Baccalaureate (IB) tests taken by all students at a school in 2004, 
>divided by the number of graduating seniors. Using this criterion, 
>Newsweek has ranked 1,042 schools.
>
>Based upon these numbers, A&M Consolidated High School is in the top 2% of 
>all high schools in the nation and in the top half of all ranked schools. 
>This is a remarkable achievement for any high school, and in particular, 
>for a Texas high school. The CSISD administration  and teachers deserve 
>our congratulations for this feat.
>
>Coincidentally, in my very recent conversations with some CSISD 
>administrators and school board members, I had noted that it will be 
>desirable to know how Consol stacked up, not just against other Texas 
>schools, but nationally. Notwithstanding reasonable quibbling with the 
>criteria used and the coarseness of the rankings, they do shed light on 
>the issue.
>
>Given this achievement,  A&M Consol's benchmark should now be to crack the 
>top one percent. How can CSPS help?
>
>Arvind
>
>Arvind Mahajan
>Lamar Savings Professor of Finance
>306N Wehner Building
>Texas A&M University
>College Station, TX 77843-4218
>Phone 979-845-4876
>Fax     979-845-3884
>
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