Bunnell High School Principal Responds to School Rankings Report

Updated post: Bunnell High School Principal Dr. Dudley W. Orr wrote the following email to Patch.com clarifying the U.S. News and World Report.

“The US News & World Reports data you quoted as evidence of college readiness was, as you point out, simply the number of seniors who took and passed AP Exams for the 2013-2014 school year. There are major problems using that information as an indication of “college readiness.”

You may know that students take AP exams in order to receive college credit for advanced courses they take in high school. What you apparently don’t know is that Stratford Public Schools has de-emphasized AP exams because almost all of our AP courses are also recognized for college credit by the University of Connecticut through their Early College Experience program. Many of our students prefer to get college credit through the UConn ECE program because many stay in-state for college, the UConn program costs less and its college credits are more readily accepted by most colleges than AP exams are. In short, it’s a better way to take a college course while still in high school.

During 2013-2014, Bunnell High School graduates had earned college credit for 248 courses. Of that amount, 69 were credits earn through AP examination and 179 were earned through UConn ECE. I’m not clear on exactly how US News & World Reports uses AP exams to calculates a “college readiness” score, but it is clear that they under-represent Bunnell High School students’ college readiness by a factor of three or more (e.g., a more accurate “college readiness” would be at least three times higher than what they reported.) These issues are roughly the same for Stratford High School.

Last of all, I want to mention that in September 2014, Newsweek magazine, using a more robust measure of student achievement, identified Bunnell High School as one of the top 500 high schools in the US... The US News & World Reports also showed that Bunnell students score above state average in tests of reading and math performance...

...Stratford residents deserve to hear the truth about how good their school are.

Yours Truly,
Dudley W. Orr, Ed.D
Principal
Bunnell High School

Original post: The verdict is out on the top high schools in Connecticut after U.S. News & World Report released their rankings Tuesday.

The top three ranked schools in Connecticut are: 1. Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy in East Hartford, 2. the Amistad Academy in New Haven, and 3. Academy of Aerospace and Engineering in Hartford.

Stratford High School was not ranked among the top 50 high schools in Connecticut but U.S. News & World Report still analyzed the school in great detail.

The student to faculty ratio is 16:1 and there are 1,074 students.

A total of 72 percent of students are proficient in reading and 71 proficient in mathematics.

Bunnell High School was also not ranked among the top 50 high schools in Connecticut but U.S. News & World Report still analyzed the school in great detail.

The student to faculty ratio is 15:1 and there are 1,210 students.

A total of 81 percent of students are proficient in reading and 82 proficient in mathematics.

The key statistic is the college readiness index, which U.S. News & World defines as based on the percentage of 12th graders who were tested and passed the AP exams.

Stratford High School’s college readiness score is 10.9, which is below the state average. The school’s AP participation rate is 14 percent.

Bunnell’s college readiness score is 13.2, which is also below the state average. The school’s AP participation rate is 17.

By way of comparison the state’s top ranked high school has a college readiness index score of 95.3, and the No. 8 high school, Darien, has a college readiness index score of 59.5.

A college readiness score greater than 35 is above average and any score between 20-35 is near the state average, according to the report. Any score below 20 is below the state average for college readiness.

Read Bunnell High School’s full report here.

Read Stratford High School’s full report here.