As a new school year approaches, Bromfield students are returning to a school that rates among the best in the nation. When US News and World Report issued its 2013 rankings for high schools nationwide last spring, the Bromfield School stood 149th among 21,035 schools across the country. (In several recent years, Bromfield ranked in the top 100 schools.)
Within Massachusetts, Bromfield came in sixth this year. Of the schools that ranked higher in the state, three are charter schools, and one (Boston Latin) is an exam school, admitting students based on their standardized test scores and grade-point averages. Only Dover-Sherborn High School, which ranked fourth, is a comprehensive public high school like Bromfield.
State prociency tests and college readiness
US News’ ratings use a school’s results in state proficiency tests (for Massachusetts, the MCAS tests) to determine whether students are exceeding expectations for the average student in both reading and math proficiency. The statistical comparisons factor in the percentage of disadvantaged students to ensure that the school is also doing better than average for them. US News also rates schools on the “college readiness” of their graduates, using test data from the advanced placement or international baccalaureate programs.
All Bromfield students scored proficient in English, and 99 percent scored proficient in math. Bromfield scored 66.6 on US News’ college readiness index, which is not a percentage but simply a score on a 100-point scale.
The value of the US News ratings is hotly debated, according to an article titled “Rank Foolishness,” published by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (Source: http://www.principals.org/Content.aspx?topic=56684). Yet almost half the principals who responded to the organization’s survey conceded that the rankings, while flawed, could lead to useful discussions about school performance. Nearly a third, however, said rankings were harmful because they “focused on the wrong things.”
