SHS recognized as one of the best (Dec. 26, 2008)
By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
For the first time, Scarborough High School has earned a silver rating from an annual study of top schools in the country. The study, conducted by U.S. News & World Report and the School Evaluation Services organization, considered overall scores on the SAT exam and minority and disadvantaged student enrollment rates to calculate a “college readiness index” and awarded gold ratings to the top 100 schools in the country and a silver to the following 500.
Superintendent David Doyle said he was glad to see Scarborough’s rank out of the 21,000 schools included in the nationwide study. According to study results, the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone was the only school in the state awarded a gold rating. Other silver rating recipients include Yarmouth, Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth high schools.
“We’re the largest school in the state to receive a silver standard,” Doyle said.
School Board student member and high school junior Julia Agger, 16, said she wasn’t surprised Scarborough made this year’s rankings since “the senior class this year did great on their SATs.”
“I want to say they were close to the top in the state,” she said.
Doyle said Scarborough’s SAT scores had been “getting slowly better” during the last 10 to 15 years, although the school doesn’t offer specific SAT-prep courses. School board student member and high school senior Jeremy Carter, 18, said he knew many students who enrolled in private SAT prep tutoring classes, while he simply took advantage of educational resources available on the Internet.
“I took [the SAT] three times, and did pretty well,” Carter said.
Another consideration of the study was the availability and enrollment of Advanced Placement (AP) courses at high schools and how students had scored on their subsequent testing – students receive a score from one to five – the results of which can be applied to college credit later on. Carter said he was currently enrolled in five AP courses and had been taking them since his sophomore year. It is unclear just how many college credits he will receive until he is accepted, as “some schools only take fives, others take threes,” he said.
Agger, an aspiring business major, said she planned to enroll in two AP courses in her senior year and was already working on building skills she could rely on to compose a college application essay in her regular English class.
“I’m definitely ready [for college],” she said.
Both students said they were glad to see Scarborough compared to other renowned school systems in the state. Agger said she knew several Scarborough students who had relocated to Cape Elizabeth and had only good things to say about their curriculum there.
“I’ve heard over the years talking to students who were here 10 years ago that Cape Elizabeth was the pinnacle of education,” Carter said. “It’s great that Scarborough is catching up.”
School board member Chris Brownsey said it was “an honor” to see Scarborough featured in the study although the specifics of the criteria considered could call the results into question.
“You have to be careful, they have a formula,” he said. “Some of the things they look at are arguably a good indicator of the school system. There can be a lot of hand-wringing over these things.”
For more information on the U.S. News & World Report study, visit their Web site www.usnews.com or School Evaluation Services at www.schoolmatters.com.
Staff Writer
For the first time, Scarborough High School has earned a silver rating from an annual study of top schools in the country. The study, conducted by U.S. News & World Report and the School Evaluation Services organization, considered overall scores on the SAT exam and minority and disadvantaged student enrollment rates to calculate a “college readiness index” and awarded gold ratings to the top 100 schools in the country and a silver to the following 500.
Superintendent David Doyle said he was glad to see Scarborough’s rank out of the 21,000 schools included in the nationwide study. According to study results, the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone was the only school in the state awarded a gold rating. Other silver rating recipients include Yarmouth, Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth high schools.
“We’re the largest school in the state to receive a silver standard,” Doyle said.
School Board student member and high school junior Julia Agger, 16, said she wasn’t surprised Scarborough made this year’s rankings since “the senior class this year did great on their SATs.”
“I want to say they were close to the top in the state,” she said.
Doyle said Scarborough’s SAT scores had been “getting slowly better” during the last 10 to 15 years, although the school doesn’t offer specific SAT-prep courses. School board student member and high school senior Jeremy Carter, 18, said he knew many students who enrolled in private SAT prep tutoring classes, while he simply took advantage of educational resources available on the Internet.
“I took [the SAT] three times, and did pretty well,” Carter said.
Another consideration of the study was the availability and enrollment of Advanced Placement (AP) courses at high schools and how students had scored on their subsequent testing – students receive a score from one to five – the results of which can be applied to college credit later on. Carter said he was currently enrolled in five AP courses and had been taking them since his sophomore year. It is unclear just how many college credits he will receive until he is accepted, as “some schools only take fives, others take threes,” he said.
Agger, an aspiring business major, said she planned to enroll in two AP courses in her senior year and was already working on building skills she could rely on to compose a college application essay in her regular English class.
“I’m definitely ready [for college],” she said.
Both students said they were glad to see Scarborough compared to other renowned school systems in the state. Agger said she knew several Scarborough students who had relocated to Cape Elizabeth and had only good things to say about their curriculum there.
“I’ve heard over the years talking to students who were here 10 years ago that Cape Elizabeth was the pinnacle of education,” Carter said. “It’s great that Scarborough is catching up.”
School board member Chris Brownsey said it was “an honor” to see Scarborough featured in the study although the specifics of the criteria considered could call the results into question.
“You have to be careful, they have a formula,” he said. “Some of the things they look at are arguably a good indicator of the school system. There can be a lot of hand-wringing over these things.”
For more information on the U.S. News & World Report study, visit their Web site www.usnews.com or School Evaluation Services at www.schoolmatters.com.
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