9486 in the collection
Magazine lauds struggling Broward school
NOTE: Mathews' system 'rewards' schools on how many AP courses students enroll in. Students don't have to pass the course or even take the AP test. All they have to do is enroll. So it is no surprise to read that, using Mathews' system, Newsweek recently listed a failing Lauderdale Lakes high school as one of the nation's top educational institutions.
By Jasmine Kripalani
Despite its struggle to meet state standards, Boyd Anderson High was recently included in Newsweek's nationwide list of top high schools.
There were ranked 1,151, putting them in the top 4 percent.
''A majority of people think we should judge schools based on [test] scores, and that's not a measure on the quality of schools,'' said Jay Mathews, Newsweek contributing editor who established the criteria. ``An inner-city school can't win based on that assessment. They are doomed to defeat in the beginning.''
Mathews said his criteria judges a school based on the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests it gives. The results are divided by the number of graduating seniors, but do not consider scores.
Mathews added that judging based on test scores tends to favor students in wealthy neighborhoods.
About 97 percent of the students at Boyd Anderson High in Lauderdale Lakes are low-income African-American students, said co-principal Joyce Ferguson.
Ferguson said the designation was a morale booster, but cautioned that the school cannot rest on its laurels. It received a C from the state last year, when the Newsweek data were collected. This year, based on FCAT scores, it received an F.
''It's a good start for us to know that we can succeed and we can change the letter grade for the better,'' Ferguson said. ``We know our students can meet the challenge of a rigorous curriculum.''
In May 2006, Boyd Anderson issued 534 AP and IB exams and graduated 435 seniors.
The list, published in Newsweek May 21, also included seven other Broward schools: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Nova, Stranahan, Fort Lauderdale, Flanagan, Plantation and Pembroke Pines Charter High School. Thirteen Miami-Dade schools also made the cut.
Boyd Anderson turned in results past the deadline to be included on the website, Mathews said, but the online list may be viewed at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
— Jasmine Kripalani
Miami Herald
2007-08-17
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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