Recently, U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News) published its listing of the “Best High Schools” rankings to identify the top-performing high schools in the United States. These rankings are based on three aspects of school performance: (1) the performance of all students on state assessments in reading and mathematics; (2) the performance of the disadvantaged student subgroups—defined as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, or economically disadvantaged students—on these assessments; and (3) the degree to which high schools prepare students for college by offering a college-level curriculum. It is important to note that the numbers used by U.S. News and World Report to calculate "this year’s" ranking are taken from state test results of the junior class in the 2011-2012 school year and the Advanced Placement scores from the seniors of 2011-2012 school year. The scores were not taken from the current juniors and seniors on either assessment. The technical methodology utilized to accomplish this determination were designed to: •

Identify high schools that have succeeded in serving their students—including those from disadvantaged student subgroups—as measured by academic performance on state assessments in reading and mathematics.

•

Evaluate how well high schools have prepared their students for college, as measured by participation in and performance on Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations.

The following three (3) step process was used to generate the “Best High Schools” rankings: Step 1: Identify high schools that performed better than expected on state accountability assessments. In Rhode Island, this is the New England Common Assessment Program (N.E.C.A.P.) Step 2: Identify high schools that performed better than the state average for their least advantaged students. For East Greenwich High School, this was those students who receive free/reduced lunch. Step 3: Identify high schools that performed best in providing students with access to challenging college-level coursework. For East Greenwich High School, this would be Advanced Placement courses and performance therein. The progression of steps is illustrated here:

 

 

 

Taken  from  the  U.S.  News  and  World  Report  website,  the  graphic  below  demonstrates   where  East  Greenwich  High  School  is  in  the  performance  zone  and  the  performance  zone’s   relationship  to  those  schools  which  were  ranked  in  this  process.    As  demonstrated  by  the   graphic  below,  East  Greenwich  High  School  did  not  place  high  enough  on  a  "relative  basis"   to  be  a  yellow  triangle  in  order  to  have  to  have  passed  Step  1  for  the  school’s  level  of  state   test  performance  index  and  its  poverty  level  of  6%.      Where  federal  data  on  student  poverty   were  unavailable,  the  missing  values  were  replaced  by  the  state  mean  value  for  student   poverty.    Therefore,  East  Greenwich  High  School  was  a  "green  circle"  and  fell  short  of  being   a  yellow  triangle.    In  brief,  what  was  needed  to  pass  Step  1.      The  high  school  did  not  pass   Step  1  of  this  process.    Thus,  it  is  not  eligible  for  Step  3  and  therefore  it  is  listed  as   unranked.    

East  Greenwich   High  School  

 

    East  Greenwich  High  School’s  performance  continues  to  rank  extremely  high.    In  fact,  as  the  above   chart  indicates,  the  school’s  performance  index  is  in  the  top  three  in  the  state.      Based  upon  the   performance  factors  considered  of  Advanced  Placement  participation/performance  and  state  testing   proficiency  scores  in  mathematics  and  English/language  arts,  East  Greenwich  High  School’s  scores   were  also  among  the  top  three  high  schools  in  the  state.            

  The  total  percentage  of  students  who  were  in  the  “disadvantaged”  category  was  6%.    Schools  with   low  percentages  of  free/reduce  lunch  students  have  to  score  and/or  perform  at  far  higher  than   schools  with  higher  percentages  of  students  who  qualify  for  free/reduced  price  lunch.    In  sum,  while   East  Greenwich  High  School’s  performance  index  is  rated  among  the  highest  in  the  state,  it  did  not   perform/score  at  a  rate  that  was  statistically  significant  for  ranking  placement.    Rest  assured,  the   high  expectations  of  the  high  school  extend  to  every  student.    We  will  continue  to  use  these  and  other   performance  indicators  to  improve  our  practice  and  raise  student  achievement  across  all  areas  in   order  to  be  regionally,  nationally,  and  globally  competitive.    While  we  have  been  and  continue  to  be   successful,  we  will  not  be  satisfied  until  all  of  our  students  achieve  at  consistently  high  levels  across   all  areas  in  manner  that  is  consistent  with  our  high  expectations  for  their  individual  and  collective   achievement.