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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
SFHS Makes Newsweek List of Top Public Schools
By Polly Summar
Journal Staff Writer
There was a surprise on this year's Newsweek list of the top 1,500 public schools in the country: Santa Fe High at No. 964.
The other two New Mexico high schools named were Moreno Valley High School in Angel Fire, at No. 326, and Hobbs High School at No. 579. Both schools were also on last year's list: Moreno at No. 31, Hobbs at No. 262.
Also last year, Los Alamos High was No. 913. This year, Los Alamos didn't make the list, which was expanded from 1,300 public schools in 2008 to 1,500 public schools in 2009.
Schools earn a spot on the list by means of a simple mathematical equation: The total number of Advance Placement tests is divided by the number of seniors graduating.
Newsweek's reasoning is that AP courses give students a chance to experience heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations.
According to the New Mexico Public Education Department, schools named to the list are in the top 6 percent of public high schools nationwide measured with this method.
Despite the good news, no Santa Fe Public Schools officials returned calls seeking comment.
Secretary of Education Veronica C. Garcia said in a statement, “The principals and teachers at these high schools should be honored for challenging their students with high expectations, advanced courses and a college-prep curriculum. Students and parents should be proud of the hard work they've put into creating a successful learning community.”
Separate from its Advanced Placement courses, the Santa Fe School District has worked hard to increase its graduation rate and reduce its dropouts over the past few years.
While the 2008-2009 school year statistics have not been released yet, in 2007-2008 Santa Fe High reduced its “cohort” dropout rate from 13.99 percent to 13.62 percent.
The cohort rate tracks each and every student who begins high school there. It's created by following all students from the ninth grade until they graduate or leave school.
The school's overall graduation rate — calculated by comparing the number of students in a freshman class with the number who graduate four years later — decreased for the 2007-2008 school year from 65.34 percent to 59.34 percent.
Deputy superintendent Mel Morgan told the Journal last June that simply calculating the number of students who begin freshman year and graduate senior year is not very helpful in terms of looking at the effectiveness of the school district. It accounts only for the numbers of students.
It's the cohort rate, said Morgan, that offers a better look at what is happening with individual students.
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