SCHOOL RANKINGS DO NOT DEFINE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Recently, U.S. News released their annual ranking of high schools across the nation for the 2017-18 school year. Peninsula was ranked 207th in the nation, a significant drop from our position of 156th in 2016. While rankings such as this can communicate important information about schools, we must remember that one number does not define us.
Oftentimes, we allow rankings from various sources to determine our judgments about the quality of a school. However, we overlook the fact that these rankings are completely quantitative; they are unable to fairly communicate many qualitative elements crucial to a high school. U.S. News rankings are based largely on Advanced Placement scores, standardized mathematics and reading scores and graduation rates. While this system can display academic aptitude, it has many limitations as it fails to consider other aspects of our school that we value. On campus, we have over 80 clubs that offer inclusivity and foster interactions among students. Sports are also a major part of our school’s culture. Athletes dedicate many hours a week to improving their skills toward their games, which reflects in their performance and adds another level of prestige to our school. There are also a variety of electives, such as Ceramics, Digital Photography, Culinary Arts and Drama, that many students participate in. Students create a positive impact not only on their peers, but also in the community through participation in leadership classes, including Principal’s Advisory Council, Service Learning Leadership, Associated Student Body, Peer Leaders Uniting Students and Link Crew. This myriad of factors are not taken into consideration in the ranking and therefore does not adequately reflect the quality of our school.
We acknowledge that rankings do hold significance when it comes to college admissions. According to PrepScholar, when colleges receive an applicant’s transcript, they are provided with a brief summary of the school’s profile, including the grading scale, test scores and class size. The admission officers rely on this information when determining the academic rigor of the school and how the applicant compares to students in a corresponding environment. Similar to how a student’s potential should not be based solely on their numbers, the value of our school should not stem only from quantitative data.
The schools currently ranked top five in the nation all come from the BASIS school curriculum, a public charter system with campuses across the country. Unlike public schools, such as Peninsula, these charter schools require an application process and are highly selective. Consequently, these schools have an average of 600 students, compared to the 2,400 students that comprise Peninsula. Since these charter schools only accept certain applicants who meet their academic standards, they are bound to rank higher than public schools, forcing our ranking down. This results in higher average scores and graduation rates, thus giving them an advantage when it comes to the ranking system. In comparison to other public high schools with similar student body sizes, such as Lowell High School and Monte Vista High School, our school ranking has not dropped significantly. Thus we can assume that our academic performance may not have changed because we can only directly compare ourselves to comprehensive schools like Lowell High School and Monte Vista High School.
Furthermore, many websites in addition to U.S. News, such as Niche and U.S.A. Today, rank high schools. However, each site measures, and ultimately ranks, the schools based on different factors. As a result, there cannot be one definite number that represents a certain school.
Rather than viewing the success of our school as a simple number, we should consider all the other parts of our campus that make our school stand out. We have to acknowledge that scores are only a part of who we are instead of falling into the stereotype of basing our opinions merely on a national ranking. Any school cannot be encapsulated into one single ranking and we are worth much more than just a spot on a list of schools.
