Palo Alto high schools refuse to join Newsweek survey of best schools

RANKINGS DON'T PASS TEST

By Sharon Noguchi
Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched:

When it comes to being listed among the nation's elite schools, the Palo Alto Unified School District is just saying no.

In declining to participate in Newsweek magazine's annual ranking of high schools, Palo Alto says it hopes to strike a blow against shallowness, student stress and unwanted publicity.

Other schools have declined to answer the survey, which ranks the top 1,200 or so high schools in the nation, based solely on the percentage of students taking advanced-placement or International Baccalaureate tests. But this may be the first time an entire district has dropped out, survey founder Jay Mathews said.

Newsweek's 2007 list was posted on its Web site Sunday and is being published today in its May 28 issue.

This year, 23 local schools made the list. Last year, Gunn High School in Palo Alto ranked 79, and Palo Alto High School ranked 361. But this year, prompted by concern at both high schools, the Palo Alto district refused to send in Newsweek's required forms.

"We don't want to be a part of it," said Gunn Assistant Principal Tom Jacoubowsky.

Said Marilyn Cook, associate superintendent of the district: "It's a very simplistic premise that the quality of a school can be measured by the number of AP tests students take."

Gunn neither ranks students nor chooses valedictorians.

"We're trying to do things to avoid and alleviate student stress," such as reducing pressure to take advanced placement classes, Jacoubowsky said.

Every year after the Newsweek education issue hits the stands, "we get calls from all over the world asking, `How can I get my child into your school?'" Jacoubowsky said.

But the school isn't eager to attract people who want to judge it solely on that criterion, he said.

"It's nice to be on the list," said Nikita Dodani, a Gunn senior and student body president. "But it adds to stress for students" by focusing on the importance of taking Advanced Placement classes.

Undeniably, however, rankings offer the public an easy way to evaluate schools.

Next to location, schools are the most important consideration for home buyers, said Mark Burns, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. Not that anyone buys a house based on a survey, he said, but seeing a highly ranked school makes a buyer feel better about spending a lot of money to buy into a neighborhood, he said.

Mathews, a Washington Post reporter and columnist, defended the survey as the best single measure of a high school. SAT and college entrance statistics mostly measure parental income, he argued, but AP course enrollment cuts across demographics.

Kate Jamentz, associate superintendent of the Fremont Union School District, said the percentage of AP test-takers does indicate rigor and access to challenging classes.

But in recent years, budget constraints forced Fremont Union - which covers Sunnyvale, Cupertino and part of San Jose - to cut such offerings, including AP statistics and AP music theory.

Responding in part to parental demand, the high-performing high school district is planning to restore some courses, she said. But "I don't aim to get on the front of Newsweek magazine, nor do any of our schools. That's not how we think of our work."

The survey is so popular that Newsweek last year changed it from biennial to every year. This year, it excludes 19 "elite schools," those whose combined English and math SAT scores exceed 1,300 or whose ACT scores are above 27. Among the elite schools excluded was Pacific Collegiate School, a charter in Santa Cruz.

Although the Palo Alto district's refusal to join the Newsweek survey may anger parents who value the recognition of national rankings, some parents say they're not upset in the least.

"It's really a meaningless ranking," said Martha Bowden, a member of the Gunn school site council and PTA executive board.

The list, she said, forces Gunn students and parents to focus on accelerated courses.

Added Bowden: "I am very pleased that they are not playing in this little pool any more."

South Bay Area Schools in Newsweek's List

85: Monta Vista, Cupertino
140: Mission San Jose, Fremont
180: Saratoga, Saratoga
213: Mountain View, Mountain View
228: Andrew Hill, San Jose
252: Menlo-Atherton, Atherton
320: Amador Valley, Pleasanton
370: Aragon, San Mateo
382: Foothill, Pleasanton
391: Leland, San Jose
428: Los Altos, Los Altos
457: Lynbrook, San Jose
467: Homestead, Cupertino
508: Los Gatos, Los Gatos
539: Cupertino, Cupertino
565: San Jose High Academy, San Jose
580: Silver Creek, San Jose
608: Sequoia, Redwood City
627: Pioneer, San Jose
678: Hillsdale, San Mateo
1,034: Carlmont, Belmont
1,145: Scotts Valley, Scotts Valley
1,253: Willow Glen, San Jose