Saint Anselm, Wash. Int'l and Holton among nation's 20 most challenging private schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP isn't just a test, it is a required curriculum. When I'm paying $36k/year I want my child's high school to put together the strongest possible courses, rather than use an off-the-shelf syllabus from the College Board and teach to the test.

There is no lack of transparency - parents at private school have know exactly what is being taught in our high schoolers' classes. I have yet to meet any parent of a selective DC area private school alum who says their child was unprepared for college at the Ivies/MIT/Stanford. The typical feedback is that college is a lot easier than high school. Nor have I met one who wanted their child to amass enough credits to graduate college in 3 years. I want my DC to take the time to enjoy the experience. I would only encourage lots of AP tests if DC really wants to go to a large public university in order to avoid the massive intro lecture courses.

I agree with respect to the small minority of students who end up on the top Ivies or Stanford - or any Top 25 school for that matter, but for those headed to the larger state schools Michigan, Indiana, Maryland - those AP credits can help a lot. While there may be only limited lack of transparency for parents of students, there is real lack of transparency to prospective students. As a parent of children who attended several of the elite schools, I am continually astounded by the misinformation/misperceptions out there. It bears repeating: if you think that ANY private school in this area comes close to guaranteeing admission to a Top 25 college, you are horribly mistaken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoever is worrying about the "lunch subsidies" at private schools is confused. There is no such thing as "subsidized lunch" at private schools. That's like asking what percentage of public school students are on financial aid.

It may say 0% under that column, but it's just an oddity of the way the survey was set up.

Also, just to be clear, the subsidized lunch number has no bearing on these rankings, it's just provided as a point of comparison. The Sidwells, etc. of the world don't appear on this list because they refuse to provide their data.

The survey ask who qualifies for lunch subsidies not who provides lunch subsidies ... It is based on income.

The point is, private schools do not collect data on who qualifies for lunch subsidies. It is a moot question.

They do if they apply for FA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the Challenge Index is very accurate when it comes to the private schools because of the intense focus on AP.

AP classes are a mile wide and an inch deep. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoever is worrying about the "lunch subsidies" at private schools is confused. There is no such thing as "subsidized lunch" at private schools. That's like asking what percentage of public school students are on financial aid.

It may say 0% under that column, but it's just an oddity of the way the survey was set up.

Also, just to be clear, the subsidized lunch number has no bearing on these rankings, it's just provided as a point of comparison. The Sidwells, etc. of the world don't appear on this list because they refuse to provide their data.

The survey ask who qualifies for lunch subsidies not who provides lunch subsidies ... It is based on income.

The point is, private schools do not collect data on who qualifies for lunch subsidies. It is a moot question.

They do if they apply for FA.

I've heard of "doubling down on stupid," but this is getting ridiculous. Are you really suggesting that the Washington Post Index includes the amount of lunch subsides as a factor in the ranking of high schools? The ranking is explained in detail. In addition, the article provides information that readers may find of interest - including the lunch subsidy information. Are you really having that much trouble sorting this out? If so, it is a wonder that you were able to turn on your computer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoever is worrying about the "lunch subsidies" at private schools is confused. There is no such thing as "subsidized lunch" at private schools. That's like asking what percentage of public school students are on financial aid.

It may say 0% under that column, but it's just an oddity of the way the survey was set up.

Also, just to be clear, the subsidized lunch number has no bearing on these rankings, it's just provided as a point of comparison. The Sidwells, etc. of the world don't appear on this list because they refuse to provide their data.

The survey ask who qualifies for lunch subsidies not who provides lunch subsidies ... It is based on income.

The point is, private schools do not collect data on who qualifies for lunch subsidies. It is a moot question.

They do if they apply for FA.

I've heard of "doubling down on stupid," but this is getting ridiculous. Are you really suggesting that the Washington Post Index includes the amount of lunch subsides as a factor in the ranking of high schools? The ranking is explained in detail. In addition, the article provides information that readers may find of interest - including the lunch subsidy information. Are you really having that much trouble sorting this out? If so, it is a wonder that you were able to turn on your computer.

I guess you don't get that teaching kids who have tutors after school to actually teach the information is very different than teaching kids who were not born on 3rd base. Why rank a school based on the kids with tutors? It actually takes critical thinking to understand an Index.

[Anonymous]

The Matthews index is fairly controversial for many of the reasons emphasized. Some of the local privates have chosen to participate and given data, others choose not to (for example, because they don't fully buy into the idea of AP courses in all subjects). Jay Matthews is fairly complementary of independent schools -- his child went to Sidwell -- but he periodically scolds them for not giving their data.

It seems to me if you don't agree with his metric -- and some do, some don't -- it's not unreasonable to decline to participate by submitting data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the Challenge Index is very accurate when it comes to the private schools because of the intense focus on AP.

There is no focus on AP tests at WIS. In fact, there are no AP classes at WIS. It's an IB school, and most students graduate with a bilingual IB diploma. Some students take AP tests on their own for a variety of reasons (and they do wonderfully, I'm told, despite never haven taken AP classes unless they came to WIS from another school), but the school has nothing to do with it.

[Anonymous]

So Holton has beat out Thomas Jefferson and the Chapin School in NY. Only in one's dreams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So Holton has beat out Thomas Jefferson and the Chapin School in NY. Only in one's dreams.

The ranking is based on how well the school can teach not on how well they can recruit.

Why don’t I see famous public high schools such as Stuyvesant in New York City or Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax County on the list?

We do not include any magnet or charter high school that draws such a high concentration of top students that its average SAT or ACT score exceeds the highest average for any normal-enrollment school in the country. This year, that meant such schools had to have an average SAT score below 2005 or an average ACT score below 29.3 to be included on the list.

The Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students. We put those schools on our Public Elites list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the Challenge Index is very accurate when it comes to the private schools because of the intense focus on AP.

There is no focus on AP tests at WIS. In fact, there are no AP classes at WIS. It's an IB school, and most students graduate with a bilingual IB diploma. Some students take AP tests on their own for a variety of reasons (and they do wonderfully, I'm told, despite never haven taken AP classes unless they came to WIS from another school), but the school has nothing to do with it.

Well, gosh, according to their website they offer AP tests in languages. I would expect the kids there to do well on language AP tests. And the challenge index specifically includes IB programs, too, since they are also explicitly college level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So Holton has beat out Thomas Jefferson and the Chapin School in NY. Only in one's dreams.

If you read the explanation accompanying the rankings, you'd know why TJ is not included. In fact, TJ is mentioned by name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Holton has beat out Thomas Jefferson and the Chapin School in NY. Only in one's dreams.

If you read the explanation accompanying the rankings, you'd know why TJ is not included. In fact, TJ is mentioned by name.

As a former Holton parent, there are many average and above average students. I agree with the description below as it relates to Holton:

The Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students. We put those schools on our Public Elites list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Holton has beat out Thomas Jefferson and the Chapin School in NY. Only in one's dreams.

If you read the explanation accompanying the rankings, you'd know why TJ is not included. In fact, TJ is mentioned by name.

As a former Holton parent, there are many average and above average students. I agree with the description below as it relates to Holton:

The Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students. We put those schools on our Public Elites list.

Schools like TJ are not listed because they are PUBLIC schools, folks. This is a listing for PRIVATE schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Holton has beat out Thomas Jefferson and the Chapin School in NY. Only in one's dreams.

If you read the explanation accompanying the rankings, you'd know why TJ is not included. In fact, TJ is mentioned by name.

As a former Holton parent, there are many average and above average students. I agree with the description below as it relates to Holton:

The Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students. We put those schools on our Public Elites list.

Schools like TJ are not listed because they are PUBLIC schools, folks. This is a listing for PRIVATE schools.

The previous comment was as it relates to Holton. Read the fine print.

[Anonymous]

Go Stone Ridge and Holton!! Pushing girls to their full potential.

Love it