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Comparing schools on the curriculum level is another way to use High school rankings for gen interest. Looking at how often a school updates its curriculum to reflect changing trends in education and updates to texts and materials will also provide perspective on what the kids are studying in preparation for the tests they take. By Patricia Hawke
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Who Cares About High School Rankings
By Patricia Hawke
Who cares about comparing schools? After all, the experts are constantly advising parents NOT
to compare their children to each other, their cousins, friends, and neighbors. It can damage
their self-esteem, causing the little darlings to feel like they don't measure up to their parents
expectations. However, comparing secondary schools for High school rankings is one situation
in which kids - students - must be compared to their peers.
High school rankings are one of the main ways that experts (think teachers, administrators and
school board members), community members (business leaders, parents, taxpayers), and
government leaders (mayors, governors, local and state senators and representatives)
determine how well a school is doing compared to its counterparts. Looking at the High school
rankings gives a lot of valuable information to all of these groups.
For example, High school rankings may provide data on test scores. Knowing how different
students have scored on standardized tests as compared to other students who have taken the
same or at least similar tests is important. It shows how much test-based knowledge the
students have acquired and retained. The High school rankings make accessing this complex
information easy.
Comparing schools on the curriculum level is another way to use High school rankings for gen
interest. Looking at how often a school updates its curriculum to reflect changing trends in
education and updates to texts and materials will also provide perspective on what the kids are
studying in preparation for the tests they take.
High school rankings may also give information on the socioeconomic levels of the students
attending the high schools that are part of the High school rankings for gen interest. If a school
is composed mostly of students in a middle- to high-socioeconomic background, there's a good
chance that more of those students will excel as compared to their peers who have a low-
socioeconomic background. In addition, information found in High school rankings can also tell
us what kind of effort schools that serve the lower end of the socioeconomic scale are putting
forth.
Looking at High school rankings can give Board of Education officials insight into which schools
should receive accolades for their hard work, and which schools might need more attention.
While all schools deserve attention and support from their local and state education officials,
there are some that need extra attention to help them raise their game. Using information
gleaned from High school rankings is an easy and quick way for said officials, as well as private
organizations or individual donors, to determine which schools need an extra boost.
Analyzing High school rankings over a period of years will also show how much improvement
individual schools or districts have made, and how the extra attention given to struggling
schools, as identified by the High school rankings For Gen Interest, has helped.
High Schools