High School Rankings Are a Disservice to Most

Every year we see high school rankings where Belmont is often included as a "top" school in the country. A recent one is from Newsweek's America's Best High Schools, where Belmont is rated 110th. It's always a feel-good moment for us, where we pat ourselves on the back and take pride in what we have. I've done that myself while on the School Committee.

Much of that is deserved. Many of our students do work hard, their parents and overall community expect – and get – a lot, and the staff is dedicated. Of course some members of the community say, "See, the school system is doing fine; it does not need more resources."

But quite a bit of what is measured is not especially relevant. Does the number of AP courses in the catalog matter? Do students go through the motions of an AP course just for fodder for college applications? Do APs really matter at all, or are they just another standardized test that are "taught to"? Isn't a challenging honors course, where the teacher has some flexibility to follow areas of interest, more valuable? What about that large segment of students "in the middle"? I'm thinking of those who are not star academic performers, who need guidance, inspiration, and often a (figurative) kick-in-the-butt. Many will eventually do a solid job in college, their careers and in life. Do schools get "credit" for these? No.

There are many aspects that are not so easily measureable that play more important roles in how a school matters to a student. How is their academic work improving beyond the MCAS? What are non-academic areas are provided? I'm thinking coaches, counselors, aides, library services and arts programs. How to measure (and rank) the impact of those? It's probably impossible.

I think part of this is our collective push for oversimplification. We want info boiled down to a color USA Today-style graph. Important things that cannot be easily measured are not considered. We don't want the answer to "which is the best?" to be "it depends." It depends on the kids, their hopes, their families, the issues they face this year and things you won't know the answer to until years down the line.

In 2011 I've interviewed or screened about 25 candidates at my company, about 15 of which were fairly recent grads. Not once did I think about grades, tests, or rankings. Admittedly, I did consider the reputation of the colleges – undergrad and grad – they went to. I spent much more time considering the projects they worked on, the challenge of some of the courses and their interests that may not be related at all to the job description.

So, what should we do? Yeah, read the rankings, but do not take them too seriously. And take the time to understand what is going on in Belmont High School and in our kids' heads and hearts. It won't be quick or easy and probably won't be clear either. But that is a good thing, and it is the real world.