Danvers High: Top School in Nation or Not? Depends on the Study

On Monday, Newsweek released its annual ranking of top high schools in the nation, but the criteria the news organization used leaves Danvers High School off its list.

Superintendent Lisa Dana says she was unaware of the Newsweek report and it does not appear Danvers was part of the survey that was sent to more than 5,000 high schools in the United States.

Newsweek says its rankings were based on responses from about 2,500 schools in 2013. You can see the details about the ranking, and every other ranked high school by clicking on the markers in the interactive map above.

The survey scores were then weighted and calculated using several criteria including on-time graduation and college acceptance rates. In addition, instead of averaging the number of courses offered, this year Newsweek considered the percentage of students enrolled in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Advanced International Certificate of Education courses. The final scores then determined Newsweek’s final rankings.

The highest-ranked school in Massachusetts, according to the Newsweek list, were Boston Latin School (114th), Dover-Sherborn High School (140th) and Newton North High School (982nd).

It was just last month, however, that the Washington Post billed the home of the Falcons among the top 9 percent of American high schools. That annual ranking was also based on AP, IB or AICE courses taken by students and thereby an indication of college-readiness.

For 2013, Danvers came in at 1,373 of 2,033 for a ratio of 1.645. Danvers High has 1,043 students, 16 AP courses and a graduation rate of 98 percent, according to the report.

Jay Mathews at the Post explains that the index score is the number of college-level tests given at a school in a year divided by the number of graduates that spring. The "modest standard" used for the list is a ratio of 1.000, meaning there were as many tests given as there were graduates.

He says that's a fairer indication of how well a school is doing (as opposed to ranking the number of passing scores) because a school can reach this benchmark with only half of students taking one college-level exam in their junior year and one in their senior year. But then only 9 percent of the nation's 22,000 high schools met that mark last year, he said.

In 2011, Danvers joined the Mass. Math and Science Initiative, which is a partnership with Boston-based nonprofit Mass. Insight Education aimed at boosting college readiness and teacher training by expanding and improving the school's AP courses in math, English and science.

You can read more about Newsweek's methodology here.