Mendham Ranked No. 4 Public High School In New Jersey

Just about anyone associated with Mendham High School feels its one of the best in the state.

Those thoughts are now being validated.

In its bi-annual ranking of public high schools, scheduled to be release in New Jersey Monthly Magazine’s print edition during the final week of August, Mendham High School is ranked fourth among the state’s public high schools, according to a news release distributed by the publication.

In its last ranking, in 2012, Mendham was ranked No. 42 overall. The monumental jump in ranking has to do with two factors, according to West Morris Regional High School Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast.

Reading, writing and math scores have all risen in the district, Pendergrast said, but a major change in the way rankings are compiled is now because of the inclusion of the International Baccalaureate program, or IB.

New Jersey Monthly, following in the footsteps of the New Jersey Department of Education, now considers the percentage of students in each school taking at least one IB test each school year.

In Mendham, Pendergrast said, 86-percent of the student body is scheduled to do so in the coming school year. That number is only topped in the state by Princeton High School, with 87-percent, Pendergrast said.

“(The rankings) are more accurate now,” Pendergrast said. “Each time (New Jersey Monthly) ranked us since starting the IB program, our rankings in the district have gone down when they clearly shouldn’t have.”

Mendham joins good company on the list, with five Morris County schools placed in the top 20. Sister-school West Morris Central was ranked No. 11, up from No. 56 in the 2012 rankings, and the list was topped by Chatham High School as the best in the state. Mountain Lakes and Kinnelon rounded out the upper tier at No. 19 and 20, respectively.

The rankings are based on scores compiled for the DOE for the 2012-13 school year, Pendergrast’s first as the district’s chief. Scoring factors include student-to-teacher ratio; student results on the SAT and HSPA tests; scores on AP or IB tests; and graduation rates.

“On behalf of the board, I want to congratulate Superintendent Pendergrast for working to ensure the state and New Jersey Monthly recognized the IB program in its scoring methods,” said West Morris Regional Board of Education President Gary Lakritz. 

The IB program has only enhanced the district’s offerings, Pendergast said.

“A lot of times people look at districts and say they either offer IB or AP (Advanced Placement),” the former Mendham High School teacher said. “That’s just not true here. We offer a robust AP program and the IB program. Whatever fits a student’s needs, we have. It’s what separates us from so many other districts.

“It’s just very nice to see that affirmation,” Pendergrast said.