Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a national accountability rating for public schools. According to the Federal “No Child Left Behind Act,” public schools must show progress in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics, which in Texas is now determined by STAAR results. High schools are also judged on their graduation rates (number of students who graduate in 4-5 years) while middle and elementary schools are judged on their attendance rates. Failing to meet AYP for two years in a row has three consequences: the state restructures the school; parents receive options for their children to attend other schools, and students may obtain free tutoring provided by a third party organization.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) bases its Accountability Rating mostly on the Texas standardized test. The current data comes from TAKS, but Texas has moved away from TAKS to STAAR, so future data will be based on STAAR results. A tiny percentage of the rating includes SAT/ACT scores, AP scores, and graduation rate. Every school’s data is available on the TEA website: www.tea.state.tx.us.
THIRD PARTY RAnkINGS
Established in 1989, Children At Risk (CAR) is a Houston-based non-profit organization dedicated to improving governmental policies that affect children. The organization has ranked schools in Texas since 2005 using a methodology that looks at up to 14 variables such as attendance rate, graduation rate, test scores, and improvements in math and reading. The methodology most heavily emphasizes (up to 25%) the presence of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2013, CAR ranked Debakey, Carnegie, and Eastwood Academy the top three public high schools in the Houston-area. It ranked TH Rogers, Harmony School of Science, and Ser-Ninos Charter Middle the top public middle schools and TH Rogers, River Oaks, and Commonwealth the best elementary schools. Parents may view the full rankings free of charge at CAR’s website childrenatrisk.org.
U.S. News and World Report (U.S. News) began publishing its rankings on the best public high schools in the US in 2007. Its methodology is three fold: a) whether school’s students perform better than the state’s average b) whether a school’s most disadvantaged students also outperformed the state average c) how prepared for college graduates are. To measure these criteria, the publication looks primarily at test score results. Like CAR, U.S. News also heavily weights populations of disadvantaged students. In its 2013 ranking, the publication named Carnegie (3rd in Texas overall/ 17th nationally), Debakey (5/26), and Yes Prep North Central (7/46) as the top public high schools in Houston. Parents may view the full rankings free of charge at U.S. News’s website: usnews.com.
Since 2011, Newsweek Magazine in conjunction with its online counterpart, “The Daily Beast,” have also ranked the nation’s top public high schools. Its methodology more highly favors college preparedness relative to the U.S. News methodology. The data it measures most closely include graduation rates, participation in AP and IB classes, and acceptance rates to two and four year colleges. In its 2013 ranking, Carnegie ranked 28th nationally and Debakey ranked 85th. Parents may view the full rankings free of charge at thedailybeast.com.
The Final Word on Ratings
While AYP, TEA, and now third party ratings are one way to rate public schools, they are not necessarily the best way. In order to better understand a public school, look at its SAT, ACT, and AP scores as well as ask the parents who have students going to that school. Another good question to ask is: what will make your child happy? Some students thrive in a sea of people; in that case, one of the bigger schools might be the better option. Other students prefer small groups, so a magnet school might be more appropriate. If the student has a passionate interest offered at a magnet school, that particular magnet school might be a good fit.
Article last updated on March 11, 2014.
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