Sorry, Ed, but 1988 was a generation ago and irrelevant to today's standards.

Interesting that Texas has 4 of the top 15, more than any other state. Good schools in the major metro areas, no state income taxes, many excellent university systems, plentiful job market, relatively low cost of living, good weather. What's not to love?

Ed is just mad because they're mostly in red states.

I too found it interesting that most of the top fifteen schools were located in the South or Southwest, where test scores and funding traditionally lag behind the rest of the nation. Whence the disparity???

Not a Socialist, I looked at that top 15 list also, there were no West Coast schools, and only two from Northern states. But, I am sure they will put their two cents in about all us uneducated southern hillbillies.

Yeah Terry, and they don't even have enough intelligence to feel ignorant about it.

notasocialist must not have gone to one of those 4 Texas schools, cause Florida has 4 schools in the list too, so Texas does not have more than any other state in the list ;)

Florida also has 4 NotaSocialist...

HELP and gena:

You are correct, mea culpa.

Not a Socialist-1286940 I go off test scores, nothing else. These are meaningless feel good studies, not based on test scores, but, feel good results. Look up my old High School, it has been on top for over 60 years. Look up our alumni, find me a better public one.

It is still the gold standard for public schools.

Ed--when I was in HS back in the dark ages, New Trier had a well deserved rep as a top Performing Arts school, which we even knew in podunk Central MO.

Even if that is still true, it is possible that that does not, in this particular survey, qualify as producing kids who are liable to do well in college, at least in a course major that will give them a good shot at a decent job.

Sad, but there it is.

Ed from Boulder--sorry, but I SMOKED test scores in HS, not necessarily because I was any smarter than anyone else, but because from a very young age I was a "heavy reader''. My test scores were NOT necessarily a predictor of how I did in college, particularly not in comparison to the 41 fellow grads who placed higher (out of 350) in our class on grades.

With all the 'test taker' classes out there, now doing well on tests CAN be a matter of how much money your parents spent on those.

PS--NONE of my kids EVER did well on standardized tests--2 of the three graduated college, one has an MBA also. And the one who didn't Graduate from college would have fit in well at New Trier--he wants to be an actor/singer/songwriter. And it is difficult to teach those. (and he'll probably always be poor.)

MOmaid - Smoke your test scores. Which ones? How many class levels did your HS have? How many teachers with a Ph.D. were actually in your regular classrooms, not special education? I mention this because I have never seen a HS top this, to include Choate and Exeter.

New Trier is a dream school.

FYI - It is not known as a performing arts school!

Try some where other than Wikipedia for information. Wiki isn't a valid source of anything.

Not a Socialist: Have you ever been to Texas?? You really must be kidding about what's not to like.

Texas, Florida and Arizona seem to be well represented in the top 15, but none from California.

I guess those 'conservative' states must be doing something right, but not those 'liberal' states that have strong teachers unions.

Hmmmmmmm.

These are only public High Schools. Put the public up with the private and let's see. What I can tell you is that the college board scores of private schools are typically higher than public schools.

wow. I don't know who assembled this list but I know more than one of these school districts and there is some prodigious fabrication going on here. Some of these towns are virtual ghettos.

Yeowza. I'm inclined to think they must have taken something the school told them rather than doing actual investigation.

Sorry, but no school, not even a private school has 100% of the students college bound. Get real.

And I'm confused how Texas, who as cut and cut and cut funding to public education could have so many schools in the top of the list. Something here just doesn't add up. How do you have excellent education when you don't fund it? There seem to be an abnormal amount of schools in areas of the deep south where funding education has been one of the first things cut.

Perhaps teachers work for free in the south? Or they are in a right to work state so the creme de la creme are willing to work for 2.50 an hour?

Ed--when I was in HS (class of '69!) there WERE only two college entrance tests. SAT and ACT. I tested above 99% on the SAT, and the same on the verbal on the ACT (not as well on the math part, as they deducted for wrong answers on those questions) Got me into some REALLY cool college level classes: intro to Shakespeare, Arthurian Lit, Greek Culture. NOT much good to earn a living. ;D

As for class levels, we really didn't HAVE that- each individual grade did however, have one or two teachers who taught 'college prep' English.

And my knowledge of New Trier came from a guy who taught Drama there my Sr. year, (only to be near his dying mom in Kansas City) and from a woman locally who had performed on Broadway, who knew many who had graduated from there. But again, back in the dark ages.

Didn't check Wiki, as I agree it has many flaws. And in the 40+ years since I was taking tests, I'm sure New Trier has changed. And I MEANT to be complimentary about it!

Sorry if you took offense. Did NOT change my point that test scores do NOT necessarily make accurate predictions on college. Or even necessarily 'smarts'. I beat out a PASSEL of smarter students in my class of nearly 350--didn't make me smarter. Just a good test taker with a huge vocabulary.

Funny Krotch Kricket but you don't have enough intelligence to know whether or not you go to one of the higher rated schools has nothing to do with your base intelligence nor does it mean that children who go to those schools will come out smarter. I've spoken to people online for years from all over the country, the worst spellers typically came from the south. The only time I would call one of them stupid though is if they were attempting to insult someone else's intelligence and either misunderstanding something, as you did, or misspelling something.

Too bad American Education is so far from the top when it comes to overall quality of education. Guess these top schools can't make up for all the garbage schools out there.

Where are the Texas bashers? Usually on the vine running us Texans down, funny thing that there are 4 in the top 15.

Essentially all Texas did was take the best kids in the metro areas and put them in a few schools.

Basic statistics tells you that outliers are not a measure of what is going on. You need to look at the mean and standard deviation. Once you look outside of the hand-chosen magnet school population, Texas rapidly declines.

ROY WILSON-336103

Texas, Florida and Arizona seem to be well represented in the top 15, but none from California.

I guess those 'conservative' states must be doing something right, but not those 'liberal' states that have strong teachers unions.

Hmmmmmmm.

You just can't resist attacking public school teachers Roy Wilson, and you should be ashamed of yourself. Your knee-jerk reaction seems to indicate that you may have benefited from an education at a school such as one on this list. There are many possible reasons besides blaming union school teachers for the rankings on this list. First, obviously is that rankings all depend on what criteria they use and how they evaluate them. Second, one would expect the top schools in the south to excel considering that they so poorly fund schools in poor and working class areas thus leaving lot's of funding for the rich kids. Now, I don't know that these schools are primarily in rich neighborhoods but I would bet they are. Really bad schools for most translates to very good schools for the few. In other "blue" states (as you have defined them) they actually attempt to educate all the children as best they can rather than just leave most behind as is the practice in the south. Yet another reason is simply the huge number of schools involved and skewing of statistics by looking only at the top few... include overall mean scores of all public schools and you will find southern schools sadly lacking behind those in the "blue" states.

Roy, I understand your inclination to grasp at any excuse to feel good about your "red states" but using this list to reassure you won't get you too far. The "red states" have the highest poverty levels, the highest infant mortality rates, the worst public schools (including all kids), receive the most Federal government tax aid relative to amount paid in, highest inmate population by percent, and of course they still fly the racist Confederate flag. Not that much to brag about hey Roy?

I just hope anyone wishing the country to become more like the south take a real good look at what they are proposing...

I contacted Newsweek to ask how they came up with their results. Basically, it all has to do with the number of AP/IB classes offered, and the number of students who pass these classes. Most of these schools teach for the test, they do not necessarily have the best or the brightest well rounded students. My daughter has gone to one of these top 100 schools and they push the kids into the AP classes as freshman. Many are not ready for college level classes, and so it is rote memorization, and giving prompts in class so they know how to wriite the essay portion of the exam.

I contacted Newsweek to ask how they came up with their results. Basically, it all has to do with the number of AP/IB classes offered, and the number of students who pass these classes. Most of these schools teach for the test, they do not necessarily have the best or the brightest well rounded students.

That would explain a lot.

Perhaps teachers work for free in the south? Or they are in a right to work state so the creme de la creme are willing to work for 2.50 an hour?

MJ - stop the mindless liberal hyperbole. Nobody has worked for $2.50hr in decades, as in since the federal minimum wage was raised above it decades ago. I get so sick and tired of you whiny liberals always pontificating and exaggerating an issue in an attempt to validate your opinion (in this case, it's the "fairness" of pay obviously).

And since you brought up right to work states, ask yourself why Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Mercedes, Honda, and Nissan have built plants in Red States and/or right to work states vs. liberal union driven states like New Jersey, Michigan, or California. That's going to be a painful reality for you and your ilk to address and face!

The "red states" have the highest poverty levels, the highest infant mortality rates, the worst public schools (including all kids), receive the most Federal government tax aid relative to amount paid in, highest inmate population by percent, and of course they still fly the racist Confederate flag. Not that much to brag about hey Roy?

Overlord - and if you break those demographics down to race and voter bloc, you will see that it's the minorities and lower income white people that are the heavy participators of the entitlements in said states, and we all know most of them vote Democrat. But you Democrat liberals don't like breaking down those numbers and facing reality, do you? Of course, we all know that Republicans/Conservatives are generally more knowledgeable about politics and US history than Democrats/Liberals, so that's got to hurt too (http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/22/science-say-gop-voters-better-informed-open-minded/). Talk about not having much to brag about!

And let's not forget that the majority of the growth in this nation has been in the Red states, not the Blue states. People are fleeing Blue states and moving to Red states (after they voted Democrat for generations ruining their own states). And then there's that pesky fiscal responsibility comparison of Red vs. Blue (http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2011/10/21/the-red-state-in-your-future/). Ah, those pesky, stubborn FACTS again!

And regarding the "racist" Confederate flag, only Mississippi still has that symbol. All other states have grown up, or in the phrase of Obama's stance on gay marriage, they have "evolved." One thing about Mississippi however: they didn't sit around waiting for the government to do their thinking for them as a hurricane barreled down on them, unlike the New Orleans residents. And they rebuilt their areas quickly without waiting on the federal government (FEMA) as well.

TheOverlord "You just can't resist attacking public school teachers Roy Wilson, and you should be ashamed of yourself."

I have no problem with school teachers - in fact, some very good friends are teachers. What I object to is the UNIONS that protect bad teachers, impose unreasonable demands on taxpayers and use taxpayer funded union dues to elect politicians that will 'toe the line' and give in to outrageous union demands - all at taxpayer expense. Their focus seems to always be on getting more pay and 'benefits', not educating our kids. It seems strange to me that private schools can turn out better performing students at about half the cost of unionized public schools, so it's obviously not a matter of 'funding'.

Just making public employee union contributions to politicians illegal to avoid the obvious 'conflict of interest' (electing the very politicians who they 'negotiate with for pay and benefits) would go a long ways towards correcting the imbalance, along with pay that reflects performance - something totally alien to unions who think that the worst teachers should get more compensation than the best teachers - merely because they've been on the job longer as a result of not being able to be fired.

Let's look at this a different way, at the whole picture. Texas has four schools in the top 15, which is one school for every 6,425,000 Texas citizens. Florida has four schools in the top 15, or one for every 4,764,000 in population. That makes Texas look worse. Let's go even further and take a look at total number of schools on the list for each state. Texas has one school in the top 1,000 for every 299,000 people in the state. Florida has one school in the top 1,000 for every 276,000 in population. Getting closer, but still Florida has the edge. Now let's look at New Jersey. No schools in the top 15, but it has a top 1,000 school for every 119,000 in population. I have not run the numbers on all states, but it looks like New Jersey, which is generally a Blue state, provides the best overall education to its residents, at least compared to Texas and Florida.

At the other end of the scale, Mississippi has one school in the top 1,000, or one per 2,979,000 in population.

And take a look at the schools, many are exam schools, meaning you can't get in UNLESS you pass their entrance exam. Sure, a top school is great, but it doesn't say much when it accepts only the best. So, what if Texas has 4 top schools, if the rest of their schools are under-performing. *sigh* Don't let articles like this comfort you. The odds of YOUR kid getting accepted to that school is miniscule. Better that we worry about the median.

I have three kids at the Pine View School - all I know is that this public school has 100% graduation, and I can only assume the other 14 do as well. Let's not brag about who's #1, but how many are close to the bottom, and how we can help those kids.....

These are only public High Schools. Put the public up with the private and let's see.

That would be comparing education that is available to rich kids only with education that is available for all.

Listen to people crying about rich kids and rich people again. Doesn't it ever get old? If throwing money at problems fixed anything California wouldn't have any problems.

Most people just can't handle the simple fact that motivation and work ethic are what make kids and adults successful.

Sam Adams - I'm far from rich. My husband and I bring in 50K a year jointly for our family. But we've made a decision to send our son to a private school. It will run us approximately $5K a year for tuition. It means we have to make a few sacrifices, but nothing over the top. In fact it's less than what we're curently paying to send him to preschool 3 days a week. The only people who can't afford private schools are those living in abject poverty with no plans or means to get out. Their kids are not likely to excel in any school because their home life is not conducive to studying.

Frankly, when comparing the educational accomplishments of States, it's much more meaningful to look at overall average results between States rather than just comparing a select few high schools.

And if you want to take it one step further, you would also factor in the racial/ethnic makeup of the student population as well, since Asians perform the best academically, followed closely by European based Whites, and then there is a significant gap to Hispanics (many of whom suffer from poor English skills), and then those with a Black heritage tend to perform the worst.

Every year, the SAT compiles score statistics by Race, and the results are amazingly consistent, with Asians typically scoring at an equivalent IQ level of about 105, while Whites score about 103, Hispanics at 92, and Blacks at 85.

And please, no 'racist' comments - My wife is Black and my 5 children are 'mixed heritage' - Here is a link to the average scores by Race compiled by SAT.

Here is a link to the average scores by Race compiled by SAT.

http://www.sciforums.com/SAT-scores-and-Race-t-60089.html

Roy,

Where is the link?

By the way that was some racist posting, I know some very dumb Asians.

@Sam Adams - it isn't about comparing education available to only the rich vs. the rest as most private schools have scholarship programs. It is about comparing schools that can refuse to offer their services to students who aren't top performers or who have behavorial issues vs. those that have to offer services to all students.

Comparing public school to private schools is like comparing a Pinto to a Lamborghini.

Is this comparing apples and oranges? It looks like some of these are charter or private schools with a select student population. Studies like this mean nothing. Let's compare public schools where everyone is admitted.

I'm not surprised at all by this list. In fact, while I attended one of them from "across the tracks" the list from my home town is a list of the most affluent neighborhoods that would "risk" sending their kids to public schools. Completely worthless information since money has a great deal to do with your college education. Why not just list the household income that is more likely to produce more college graduates! Still worthless, but slightly more interesting.

Bobby Jones Bia "Roy, Where is the link? By the way that was some racist posting,"

The link is in Post #1.35 - just before yours. The figures are 'averages' - We all know both smart and 'challenged' people of all races.

Your 'racist' comment was predictable, but if I remember correctly, Attorney General Eric Holder said that 'We are a nation of cowards' for not being willing to discuss issues of Race, and we need to discuss them openly and honestly. Sorry for taking him at his word.

I would talk about racism all day, however it would never change a thing.

clearly those of you that are tooting your "stick it to the Blue states" horn didn't attend any of the schools on here or else you would have a higher reading comprehension. This article is about individual schools, many of them private or charter liberal arts schools.

This is NOT an article about the US's best public schools systems. I guarantee you AZ won't be at the top of that list.

Bobby Jones Bia "I would talk about racism all day, however it would never change a thing."

'Racism' would be assuming that ALL members of certain races have certain characteristics, but the 'Bell Shaped Curve' (Standard Deviations) demonstrates that there are millions of Blacks and Hispanics that are smarter than the average Whites or Asians.

Individual initiative is still the best predictor of economic success - regardless of Race. Simply put, almost EVERYONE who has the right ATTITUDE will do better in life than even so-called 'smart' people who never try.

Because the characteristics that promote learning have nothing to do with the race of a person. It has everything to do with the environment you grow up in.

I am a substitute in our local school system that is funded by the city where I live. Even though the dity is medium to small the school system still seems to be better than the county schools

Many of our black friends have been complaining about lack of opportunity and are probably correct. Lot more poor blacks than most other minorities. While getting into an argument with a blogger from Rhode Island I looked up some statistics while comparing Tennessee to Rhode Island. Rhode Island had approximately 2000 black students in their school system. Tennessee had roughly 200,000 and even at that the two systems were not all that far apart.

My experience as a substitute teacher is that most of our schools are average. Some have impressed me in how eager the students are to learn with but one exception. This exception is in the poorer part of town where it would appear that the students mostly raise themselves with apparently little or no adult supervision. Not only that , those children cannot be disciplined because those parents are eager to sue the system for "damages". Personally, I want to sue that particular school and the principal because I feel I and my fellow property tax payers are not getting our money's worth.

Private prep schools, magnet schools, charter schools, all schools with select academically top-of-the-heap student body. All that is necessary is to take the best and the brightest, give them a competitive environment of like students (what teacher doesn't prefer teaching only the best and brightest), with space and tools and the rest is easy

Home Schooling is the best schooling. And NO, I'm not a christian evolution denier- I'm an atheist evolution supporter who doesn't want my children taught political correctness rather than reading writing ad arithmetic.

Neale Osborn "Home Schooling is the best schooling. And NO, I'm not a christian evolution denier- I'm an atheist evolution supporter who doesn't want my children taught political correctness rather than reading writing ad arithmetic."

After doing some research, and actually having to try it since my 6 year old daughter's school in California refused to provide a study program for her for the 5 months we're in Costa Rica, I have to agree. I am very impressed with the home study program I found on-line, and she is pretty much doing the program by herself. I'm amazed at what they are teaching kids in the first grade these days - especially in Math.

Some of my research indicated that home schooled kids commonly perform at a level that is about two years ahead of their age group in public schools. That's a huge advantage for them.

Roy- my 4 kids all read at least 3 grade levels above their age mates who go to public OR private schools. People tell me all the time how polite, friendly, outgoing, and smart they are. As their father, of course I think they are the sartest kids around, but having others, especially the parents of other kids in their Boy Scout troop, brownie troop, ball teams, and other places tell me the same thing, I think my wife and I have done a great job. And it's so rewarding to have your kids see something and ave them explain to their friends what it is and how it happened.

I suspect you are right. One of the reasons private schools do better than public schools is the parental commitment. The core requirements for graduation are no different, and the qualifications needed to teach are no different. The parental commitment shows the children that a quality education is something to be desired and worked for. Of course, the other difference is that private schools can enforce learning standards and expel troublemakers.

The students have probably got to have high test scores to get in those schools like the one in the article.

Pained--EXACTLY!! MANY of the schools were either MAGNET schools or Private schools. Both take a considerable commitment, in either money, time traveling to and from, and the student's hard work (or all three) and that doesn't usually happen in a vacuum.

MOmaid, did you read the article? These are public schools not private.

Parental involvementis part of the key, but add to that adequate facilities and schools that require more from their kids to get the grade. Private schools have to perform at a "cut above" or people won't pay the tuition plus the public school taxes.

@stc - yes, they are all public schools, but many of them are charter or magnet schools which are able to limit enrollment. The highest rated traditional open enrollment school is #25 on the list.

Actually, in my state (MO) most of the Magnet schools were built to attract black students to leave the inner city schools they lived near, and give them a shot at being successful in life. Most were 'themed' as you see on some on this list, with an emphasis on a particular 'interest' like performing arts, science and math, history, etc.

The inner city schools were VERY difficult to attract good teachers to because of the crime ridden neighborhoods they were in--but the kids who went to magnet schools were all voluntary, and it required quite a commitment from the student because of the time spent traveling to and from.

Gatton Academy isn't a Magnet School. It is only for the last two years of high schools. They pick 60 of the best juniors ink KY every year.

Nav-399861

If you are referring to the top 1000 you are wrong.

How very sad that you consider music a waste. When our society finally eliminates funding for the arts in public schools it will be the last nail in the coffin of the US.

I work for a structural engineering firm that does a lot of the public schools in GA. Believe me they love to spend money on fancy designs. The arched roofs gets me it costs between $1,000-$2000 for each beam that has to be rolled, all the bar joists have to be rolled also. I don't know how much that costs.

Chirs, maybe we should sell all the schools to the highest bidder so some well-connected corporations can profit from vouchers. They could cram 60-70 students into a classroom and make their stockholders happy.

Chris--you DO know that there is a connection between the kids who do well in Music and the ones who do well in Math? By ALL means, cut the Sports out--(which will have the added benefit of not encouraging guys whose ONLY talent was being a jock from getting an Ed degree so he can COACH, but also having to TEACH something he doesn't know well or like.) And it IS possible to rehab old school buildings, rather than building some monument to some architect's ego.

(PS--my daughter taught vocal music for 7 years, teacher of the year twice, but went back and got her MBA because she got tired of dealing with PARENTS who didn't want to MAKE their kids work, and ADMIN who were mostly former coaches who weren't good at THAT either.)

When I 1st started working on schools they were costing between 11-12 million now they are running around 17 million. I don't know how the poor counties afford them. Thanks to the NCLB just about all the counties are having to build new schools. It's kept me busy the last 10 yrs. It takes about a year from start to finish, but you can do more than 1 at a time. I remember having 3 going at one time.

There is a strong correlation between students who are in extra-curriculars (sports, band, drama) and doing well in school. To say schools should get rid of any of these programs is to do a dis-service to the students. There are a great number of students who push themselves to maintain the C average required to be on the sports team, without this, they would allow themselves to fail. For many students, being able to join a sports team and try for a scholarship is their only hope of getting out of the inner-city and make something of themselves.

My daughter goes to Pineview and there are 25 to 30 students per every 1 teacher, the same as the other schools in the area.

As for house hold income that should have no bearing. Weather you are rich, poor or middle class it is up to you as an individual how much you put into education, you either try or you don't. Some of the smartest and wealthiest people started with nothing and worked hard to persevere and get to where they are. People need to stop using that as an excuse for their or their children's failure. Everyone has the same opportunities, you just have to work for it and not expect everything to be given to you.

Income levels have "no bearing" on anything...That's sort of the funniest thing I've ever read on this forum...

You put two schools on either side of the street, only on one side there's the "affluent" neighborhood, and on the other there's the "poorer" school...Let's guess which one is the "better" school.

I'll give you the student/teacher ratio, because I really don't know...I do know public schools in my area run more towards 25-30 per teacher.

Income levels do have an influence on education. If a child is concerned about their next meal, they are not focused on learning, nor is their body ready to learn if they are hungry.

TJ--I hear what you are saying, but in my school district, 50% or more of the kids qualify for free breakfast/lunch, and VERY few bother to get to school in time to eat breakfast. (and the BUS does get you there in time) MUCH of what is served is thrown away, which is NOT the activity of the HUNGRY--it is the activity of kids whose parents let them get away with eating tasty but empty (nutrition-wise) meals all the time.

My parents both grew up in the depression, and even tho we were not poor, they taught us to eat what was put in front of us. A good life lesson. (and to this day, I frequently eat either a peanut butter or a cheese sandwich for lunch!)

MOmaid, a child that is also living in a poor area has many other concerns than learning. Not knowing if a bullet will rip though the wall of his house and kill him, would make one a bit more concerned with paying attention to the noises outside than studying. Those same children are taught at home that money is more important than learning. Selling drugs or their body gets money to pay bills and not once are they told that a good education could fix the problem. Then you get the students that come from afluant families that have everything given to them, and they ignore it. Take a trip down to your local school district. Ask around how many students have smart phones, the numbers will shock you. Then ask those students who bought it for them. A few will say that they bought them. The rest will say that mommy or daddy bought it and its about time for an upgrade, after all this model came out last year. Teach children at home that education is important.

Also you have to take into account thot most wealthy, successful people are well educated, and above average in intellegence. They are better prepared to help their child if he is struggling with algebra than an illiterate high-school drop out who works as a janitor at Walmart.

Again, that's on average. I'm sure there are complete morons in wealthy homes and geniuses living in the projects. But ON AVERAGE smart people are wealthier than dumb people. And if intelligence is in part genetic, one would think that the son of a successful doctor and lawyer would have an easier time learning than the son of a warehouse worker and a waitress.

Xina hit the nail on the head. Average household income absolutely does have a bearing when looking at averages. Yes, there are those who have grown up in abject poverty that have made it and are successful. But, as a whole, children growing up in poverty typically don't have the resources they need to be successful, for many this is simply a parent who is able to help them with their homework. My children are in 2nd and 4th grade and they have already brought home math homework that could be difficult for many parents to help with (median and mode, algebra, geometry) because it offers little instruction. They are fortunate enough to have parents who both did well in math, but many others are not so lucky.

The average reading level of an adult in the US is between 8th and 9th grade, can you really expect a parent with an 8th grade reading level to be able to help their high school student with their chemistry or trigonometry? Simply looking at the law of averages means there are a lot of parents reading at a 4th or 5th grade level. This leaves students falling behind way before they could ever dream of getting to high school.

Intrepid--ABSOLUTELY I agree. My small town in central MO (20K people) has one out of every 6 students who do NOT speak English. Six years ago, it was one out of eight, so evidently, in six years, not too many kids are GAINING that English proficiency.

My best friend is a reading specialist, and 15 years ago, her time was spent with American kids who were slow readers, had dislexia, etc., but those kids no longer have access to help, since her time is now taken up totally with teaching Hispanic kids, not just to read, but their alphabet, and she is appalled at the fact that at the end of summer every year, the kids come back having regressed to the same level they were at the beginning of the previous year.

Meanwhile, the regular classes are 'penalized' teacher-time-wise, by the teacher having to cope with the kids who do NOT speak English. This is skewing all their testing scores, but never FEAR--the Dept of ED gives 'free passes' on the kids who don't speak English, and they get extra help on taking the tests.

Did I MENTION that my town has NO industry that could get green cards for the parents of all these students? And at $7500 PER YEAR per student, these 800 students (out of the total of 4300) kids are costing our district nearly $6 million a year? Not to mention having to build a new HS, and add on to several of the grade schools?

I agree that the ESL students play a huge role in how the school does. My children started school at an elementary that had 47% of the students who were ESL, these students were pulled from class to attend their ESL class and the rest of the students were essentially held back. My children now go to a school that has almost no ESL students and they are actually able to teach all the students a second language (Spanish) because they don't have to spend time teaching a huge percentage of the population English.

I strongly believe, prior to being admitted to a main stream Kindergarten class (or whatever grade) all students should have to be able to show they are able to effectively communicate, at grade level, in English. If they are unable to, they are unable to enroll until they can. It is patently unfair to the rest of the students to have to sacrifice their education because parents are unwilling to give their children the basics.

Would like to point out that it specifically says in the article that it's ranking the top 1,000 PUBLIC Schools. Magnet Schools are public schools but they specialize in their curriculum.

However I'm curious how they came up with the rankings. 4 of the schools are in FL. I'm familiar with and unimpressed with the Florida education system, so it makes me wonder what their ranking system is based on.

Oh, like those of us with Asperger Syndrome? I was not a behavior problem in high school, and made reasonably good grades for what I had to go through. What I had to go through was the fact that people knew I was different in some way and I was bullied and harrassed by students and teachers, and named least likely to succeed in my graduating class just because I am different. It was even announced over the PA system a few days before graduation that I was voted by the student body as least likely to succeed. I probably would have made better grades than my mostly Bs and a few Cs if I didn't have to work around constantly taunting students and teachers who sometimes changed my answers on tests so they could check it wrong. When I did accept my diploma, I was nearly booed off the stage. Again, I was not a behavior problem, rarely missed school, did not do drugs, or anything else high school kids did to get into trouble. I was treated the way I was just because I was "different" and there was NO excuse for it. I went to Shawnee Mission East High School. The school administration did NOTHING to stop the students from making my life a misery even though they knew I had Aspergers. This was before the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed or even written, so the school pretty much ran roughshod over me. I say to those who didn't mind watching me be miserable by not removing the taunting: The bitch named Karma knows where you live, and if bad things have already happened to you, it is because of just standing there doing nothing while a student was getting bullied and harrassed by students EVERY DAY. If nothing bad has happened to you yet in the name of what goes around, comes around, it will.

Deborah, sorry to hear about the hell you endured in school. Reminds me of my son's experience in the 80s. In retrospect, my son showed a lot of the indicators for Asbergers (smart, creative, anxious, repetitive gestures, irritated by clothing, odd gait, OCD). He too was labeled as different and taunted until junior high when he started fighting. The schools could not figure out what was wrong and told us he would grow out of it. He was in therapy for six years and was diagnosed with ADD. Long story short, he is in prison (2nd time) for drug use and sale. Note: if you think your kid is different, don't send them to public school. Most are not equipped, even in 2012.

Sad story, Deborah. Some of life's harshest lessons are learned early. You didn't mention which group of PDD's you suffered from. We all know kids/teens can be so very judgmental toward one another. Unfortunately bullying happens a lot.

I'm curious to know why didn't your parents stand up for you? I would have fought for my child, and my parents would have fought for me. It really is a shame you had to face such prejudice alone.

And where would you send them? Private schools do not offer services (they are not required to), or accommodations for students with disabilities. We had one young lady who came to our MS from the catholic MS, she had cancer, missed a lot of school and needed books and curriculum so she could work at home or in the hospital. They refused, as a public school teacher I wrote her accommodation plan that met her needs so she was able to participate and learn as long as she could. She passed away in 8th grade, it was a very sad day.

Jim--I hear you. Had a friend whose nephew kept getting kicked out of private schools in grade school, because of poor behavior, and he kept making excuses that it was all the teacher's fault.

NEVER occurred to him that his SISTER and hubby might be the problem?

TJHarris, you are wrong on that private schools just like public schools have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If they refused anyone they can be sued under the ADA act. When we design private schools they are done just like public schools they have to comply with ADA.

They are not required to have a Special Education teacher on staff. When they need Special Education services they are provided by a public school teacher who has to travel to that school or the student has to come to the private school for the classes needed. If it is a behavior issue or an autism issue the student is simply asked to leave. A public school can only expel a SPED student for violence, weapons, or drugs and then they provide services at an alternate(secure site). There is no way I would send my daughter to the catholic schools in this area-the bullies and snobs there make the large public schools look like a cakewalk. AND the percentage of graduations and ACT/SAT scores are lower then the public HS.

Deborah - The ADA was passed in 1990. Asperger's Syndrome was not added to the DSM until 1994. So either you were not officially diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome or you went to school after the ADA was in effect.

Private school's DO NOT offer special education services... that is the public school's responsibility even if the student is enrolled in private school.... if it's too much trouble, the private school will just refuse service and send the child to public school.... They do NOT have to accept any student they don't want. They are a private institution and may have to be "handicap equipped", but try showing up with a child in a wheelchair and they'll lead you straight to the door.

People these days, including educators, don't know the difference between disciplining a child and brutalizing a child. I grew up in the day and age where "paddling" in school was the norm. Never was there incidents where a child was really hurt. Kids were better behaved back then. Now our kids are on a run away train to bad behavior because they are not being disciplined at all or they are being disciplined the wrong way. People need to learn from the old ways because the new way of dealing with kids is not working.

Those who maintain the policy of paddling need to be burned at the stake or tied down so others who have been on the receiving end of the punishment they have allowed can kick them to death as a group. I would LOVE to kick to death the Shawnee Mission District superintendant who told my parents it is their problem, not his that I am different, and that he was not going to stop the bullying and harrassment from students and teachers I received on a daily basis. My parents could not afford private schooling for me at the time.

Deborah. I really understand where you are coming from and feel terrible about your ordeal. It can't be blamed on the "paddling" issue, but the sorry people in charge. Until there is reform in our schools and better quality people in educating positions, there will be no change in how children are treated. Bullies should be dealt with from the education level and parental level. Until that happens, it will never stop. Like you, my parents could not afford private schools, so I learned early on to deal with bullies with an eye for an eye. Back in the day, you could defend yourself without going to jail for it. Kids do better when they are allowed to take care of themselves, even if it means fighting back.

Julie Worley--while there are exceptions to every rule, I NEVER would have been paddled in school, because I KNEW that if I got into ANY trouble in school, my punishment would be FAR worse when I got home.

MANY kids in school today have NEVER been taught to OBEY instruction, behave politely, respect the teacher (even if they are a nincompoop!) and admin, and do what I was expected to do.

I see too many hellions in the grocery store whose parents do NOTHING to control them to believe that all the problems are on the side of the school. Parents are NOT parenting their kids.

I grew up in the era that stated that children needed to be spanked if they got out of line. I have worked at the local school district and can tell you for a fact that if these students were ever paddled for their actions their parents would a, get the wrong story from the child, and b, burn the teacher for assaulting their child.

The major problem is communication. A single parent cannot chastize their child because the child has see so much about how child abuse is illegal. Kid goes to school and tells them how badly beaten he was for no reason. CPS shows up and threatens the parent with taking the child. Child learned to beat the parent at the punishment game. A dual parent envirnoment is worse, kid gets a spaking and now he has two sources to fight fire with. The other parent and the government. Kid gets a spanking for destroying something, and goes running to the other parent. I got spanked for no reason. Parents fight. Kid gets a reward from parent 2 for being spanked. Then comes school, parent gets home to find their child throwing a fit that they got spanked at school, never mind what was done, they got spanked. The parent heads down to the school to blast the teacher for punishing their child. No one stops to listen to anything other than what the kid says. Sounds exactly like the Salem Witch trials. Anyone that irritated one of the kids would get spotted as a witch and killed.

When the article in the paper came out about spanking being bad for kids, I had to laugh. A study was made to see which was worse. Kids that were spanked versus kids that were not spanked. Well the report never fully explained all their safeguards. Did both parents tell each other why the kid was getting a spanking. Did the kids hear about how their best friend was never spanked and thought it was hillarious that they got spanked for something said friend got away with constantly. How about did the people doing the study isolate the families completely to prevent their study from being contaminated by outside influances.

Nothing at all wrong with that concept. Let's give the underpriveleged kids vouchers, so that they can attend those good schools.

Not my point, sir. The point is, why don't we improve our education system so that it would help all students, not just a certain percentage of them. And just for information sake, being underprivileged doesn't make you less a person. Underprivileged kids are just as human as rich kids. And it is grossly unfair to think otherwise. I, myself, grew up in a very poor family, but I am by no means ignorant. It just so happens I went to some excellent schools in South Carolina, where the teachers actually gave a d#mn that each student went away with a modicum of knowledge.

I understood your point. I agree with you that the education system needs improvement. My point was, why don't we improve the system by supporting the good schools instead of continuing to pump money into the bad ones in the (so far vain) hope they will improve. Then we can send all children to good schools.

We are in total agreement, that our education system is broke. Unfortunately, all schools are only as good as the teachers and administration are. The standards for teachers have gone way down and until that is fixed, there is little hope that all our children will receive a top notch education. We can only hope that the future will bring good reforms to a broken education system. On that one, I will not hold my breath.

" Unfortunately, all schools are only as good as the teachers and administration are."

I think students and parents also have a little to do with things...

I understand lacywild's point. Most kids are just average, and will not be engineers, scientists, mathematicians, attorneys, doctors, etc.. Most kids will probably be slave labor for the elite, and this country probably doesn't mind keeping them a little dumb. No excuse for it I know. I am very egalitarian-minded, and anti-elitist and anti-fascist.

Not quite sure what you people are talking about. Maybe I'm too stupid. Are you calling for a dumb revolution. Before you amass your mediocre army, you might want to study Singapore. They don't give two @!$%#s how average our country becomes. There is literally billions of people striving to have our lifestyle. I hope they achieve it but I also hope we maintain it.

genafan. Totally agree with you. Until parents start actually parenting their children, no amount of good educators will help them. These days parents have very little control over their kids and these kids have no respect for anyone in authority. Wasn't that way when I was growing up and I don't understand why parents today don't teach their kids the most important life lessons that aren't learned in school.

Being poor & underprivileged is a cop out if people wanted to learn they can. We came from a poor single parent home & we all did well in school. My brother won governors honors twice, who's who in America, all kinds of awards in school, He got to go to UGA for the summer, graduated 2nd in his class. He's the communication director for an international corp. making over $125k a year now. It can be done if they want to work for it.

lacywilde--nice scenario, but I have seen too many POOR kids make good, and too many RICH kids be college drop outs.

The problem USUALLY begins at home. In my hometown, a 'man on the street' interview in the paper was asking whether the person would vote for the bond issue to build a new high school.

His reply? "I ain't got no high school diploma, and I done okay, so why does my kid need one?"

And yet, my son's best friend, a young Black kid whose mother was a druggie and in prison, but whose GRANDMOTHER was raising him, and pushing him to do well, worked his butt off in HS (and college) and now runs our local 'Boys and Girls' club. He wanted to make sure that kids who didn't have supportive parents got it SOMEWHERE.

You do realize these are PUBLIC schools. Gatton Academy doesn't deny applicants who need financial assisstant. Most probably don't though. At gtatton, you just have to pay for the books. About $500 a semester.

BASIS, which is listed at #3 and #5 is a free Charter/public school. Anyone can attend. No placement testing. And I can assure you that Tucson has its share of poor and underprivileged.

My opinion is we need to concentrate our education efforts on those who need help so they can attain the same opportunities as the top rated students. What would be wrong with that concept?

And at what point do you put the responsibility for helping the students on the parents? I am a parent of two students who do very well in school, and I have seen first hand what happens at schools who focus on "concentrating their education efforts on those who need help so they can attain the same opportunities as the top rated students." These students get the extra attention of the teachers, and the "top performers" are left to learn the information on their own. The students who need help set the bar for the rest of the class and the top performers are left to boredom. All this happens and these students who need the most help are passed on to the next grade even though they are unable to meet the grade standards. It is time we stop passing students so they won't feel bad. If a student is unable to perform at grade level, they shouldn't be able to move on to the next grade, simply forcing the rest of the kids to submit to a sub-par education.

Patrick--the flooding of legal AND illegal Hispanics to CA has destroyed their school systems. The tax base in the poorer areas has gone way down, while the burden on the schools of trying to be BILINGUAL rather than expecting the kids to learn English is killing them.

My younger son went to China right after Graduating from the U of Oklahoma on an exchange program to teach Chinese grade schoolers how to speak English. During orientation, one of the other 'teachers' asked what they should do about discipline. The Chinese just STARED. And finally answered, "you don't understand--these kids all WANT to be here, and WANT to learn, because they KNOW it is their ticket to prosperity."

And in the 2 years my son taught there, he found that to be TOTALLY true. And did I mention that these kids were NOT rich kids?

Hmmm .... I'm guessing at least 40 states don't have a school in the top ten. So what?

So what? So let's dance

Schools are a reflection of the community. Texas is draining the intellect out of California. Once Brown raises taxes, last one out turn off the lights

Six of the top 10 and 10 of the top 15 are from Texas, Florida, and Arizona.

To alll those ppl pointing out that these schools are in red states yes thats true. But those schools are in the Blue/liberal area in those red states. I am a gradute of #12 in Miami Fl. And SAS went around and recruited the best students from mediocre high schools. Because of the high standards that I had to meet to get into that school it didnt matter that it was far away from home. Waking up at 530 to make it to school at 730 was no fun and the 1hr and 15 minutes bus ride was also not fun. But I understood the sacrifice and the majority of the students in my school were minorities. Its not political, America just need to challenge the youth and theyll step up to the plate.

No wonder why your Status is Unknown. You need to rethink what you think of people from the South. I am from South Carolina and I am neither uneducated nor religious garbage. People like you who make blanket statements about other people are the ones in need of an education. Ignorance is not a very becoming trait to have.

Status-Unknown,

When I think southern U.S. I think uneducated religious garbage.

"It's not the things you don't know that make you ignorant. It's the things you do know that just ain't so." ---Mark Twain (a Southerner)

OK i may be young Sir/Ma'am but I find that extremely offensive

When I think southern U.S. I think uneducated religious garbage

Well that just goes to show you how poorly your state educated you. You might want to stop thinking and start learning.

Not all people from "the south" are uneducated, religious wackos. And not all of the educated are rich and go to these schools. You are obviously giving in to the stereotypes that cripple the reputation of certain areas of the United States. Please think about what you say before writing such a ridiculous and assuming comment without being an expert about EVERY SINGLE PERSON from EVERY SINGLE REGION. I don't think that all northern state residents are pretentious pricks, nor should anyone assume that all people of the southern states are stupid rednecks.

Denver Bill I'm going to use that one. That's the 1st time I've read it.

Thanks.

My pleasure.

I don't know maybe one person's perception of your region should serve as a wake up call. Stereotypes exist for a reason. Whether it's Quran burning "ministers" or racial shootings, it seems like there's never enough to report about. Lets not forget all the kids that have been smothered, shot, or beaten to death by their homicidal mothers. You just rarely hear a peep from the Midwest.

ROFLMAO Status-Unknown,

One of the salient characteristics of ignorance is the lack of desire to become educated. Stereotypes do exist for a reason; that being the employment of the logical fallacy that a characteristic common to a few can be ascribed to the many .... that's why they call it stereotyping. As for the Midwest, I call your attention to the Westboro Baptist Church (Topeka, KS), the Oklahoma City bombing, and the riots in East St. Louis in 1917. And don't forget China Arnold, who microwaved her baby in Dayton, OH, or Michelle Kehoe, who killed one son and attempted to kill the other in Littleton, IA. May I suggest you spend at least as much time reading as you do writing. You (and the world) will be better for it.

Your story is the hidden truth to the problems with our schools. Instead the government wants to tax us for programs which they think will improve education, programs which come under the NCLB provision which are in the forms of testing which has been set up to divert the attention and blame towards the schools and teachers who for the most part have their hands tied. Meanwhile what they should do is work to figure out how to get rid of these unruly students. Of course our government doesn't want to lose the vote of these parents because there are more of them, more of those parents who haven't done the right thing, than us, those who have done the right things in raising our children.

robin-lol! when my daughter was teaching in KS, she had a girl (kindergarten!) who pretended she was a CAT. She would 'meow', hiss, rub up against your leg, and generally throw a tantrum if you didn't TREAT her like a cat.

In October, her family moved from KS to TX, to the same school district my daughter had previously taught at, and she couldn't WAIT to see what THAT district would do with such behavior. Because they didn't TOLERATE that kind of cr@p.

Backatya--sorry, but the poorest grade school in my town (out of 7--small town) is also the one with the poorest test scores. The district has transferred in the best and brightest teachers, admin, and support staff, to NO avail, and frequently with the result of LOSING that personnel either from 'burnout' or from them moving to a different town to escape that environment. NONE of that helped in the least to improve their scores or grades or success. PS--this area is predominately white, no poorer than several other areas of town, but the vast majority of the residents are former UNION workers whose businesses moved elsewhere.

What are the odds of my town attracting NEW businesses/industries when a big chunk of the available work force does NOT support the local schools OR their own kids in school?

ru--sorry, but you didn't READ the article, did you? these ARE only public schools.

Krotch Kricket--sorry to be a baddie, but in my opinion (and I'm in my 60's) a 75 year old granny competing for minimum wage jobs did NOT do what she should have done when SHE was young--she never got an decent education, and once her kids were grown, she never started allocating the money she USED to spend on them on her OWN retirement savings. While she did grow up in a time when it was 'normal' for mom's to stay home with the kids, that should not have prevented her from working AFTER they were gone, and putting some aside.

Yup, that's partially why unemployment is so high.

On a completely different note, of all the possible factors that have contributed to the dumbing down of America, why did you pick integration? How about relentless cuts to education by Republican administrations? How about glorifying American Idols for entertaining instead of advancing stem cell research? Or how about paying millions to someone for tossing a ball through hoops but paying educators Jack S? Just a thought.

C.W.

Let me clarify my statement. I feel that integration works when the students that are integrated have the same comprehensive level of understanding of the subject mater. It's when students that are mixed together with incoming students that are two or three years behind in comprehension that problems arise. Cuts in education are a more recent trend and are state mandated programs not federal. Funding cuts affect the quality of teachers that are employed as well as the material they have available to teach their students and it seems that paying coaches huge salaries and bonuses are more important than hiring teachers or avoiding pay cuts. That is probably because sporting events can generate revenue in the way of ticket sales and other activities associated with them. It has become more important for students to be able to be a jocks than for them to be able to read, write, or do math. this kind of attitude towards all programs is what is cutting advancement in many Fields of education and technology today. As much as I hate to say it China has the right attitude by focusing on education and fitness instead of programs such as foot ball, base ball, and such. These programs should come secondary to education and fitness.