East, West Score Highly in Latest High School Ratings

Cherry Hill East and West are two of just three Camden County high schools to get an “A” in a new version of high school ratings, but district administrators say it’s what’s behind the ratings that’s important.

Inside Jersey magazine used a "proprietary formula" that compared test scores—SATs and High School Proficiency Assessments (HSPA)—over a four-year period, and ranked East and West, along with Haddon Township, as the three “A” high schools in the county, with Eastern and Haddonfield both rating a “B.”

But, by a twist of logic, Inside Jersey writers claimed a “B” rating was potentially better—schools rated an “A” had “above average scores, below average growth,” while “B”-rated schools had "above average scores, above average growth."

The Inside Jersey ratings come as just the latest in numerous rankings from myriad sources—in the last year, East and West have ended up in ratings from New Jersey Monthly, Newsweek and others.

In some cases—Newsweek, for instance—both East and West end up well inside the top 100 schools in the state, while others drop at least one as low as 146th.

Because of that difference, and because so many different formulas are used to determine the final scores, it’s not always easy to find meaning, said Superintendent Maureen Reusche.

“It depends on the source,” she said. “Of course, when you see things like Newsweek that are more prominent…you’re going to look at that, because it goes to a wider audience.”

It also depends on how the rankings are calculated—whether advanced placement (AP) classes are weighted, whether AP tests are considered on a student-by-student basis or just overall, among numerous other factors, Reusche said.

“For us, when we see those rankings come out, we immediately go to, ‘What was the methodology?’,” she said.

Knowing that allows administrators to glean what useful information there is from the individual rankings, Reusche said, and allows them to make the determination on whether changes might be necessary.

Either way, she said parents are generally supportive of how the schools see and process the various rankings and how they change, year-to-year.

“We have a well-educated community that understands there’s a lot behind those rankings,” Reusche said. “I don’t know that it’s something people would panic over.”