U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of the 2017 Best High Schools on Tuesday, April 25. Since then, U.S. News has received a number of questions about why International Baccalaureate test data were not included in the rankings. Below are answers to these questions.
1. Why weren’t IB data included in the 2017 rankings?
U.S. News depends on the International Baccalaureate Organization to submit results on participation in and performance on IB exams. U.S. News has previously used these data in Step 4 of the four-step methodology to determine a school’s College Readiness Index.
As U.S. News has stated, Step 4 of the methodology this year did not include IB test data because the IBO informed U.S. News in November 2016 that it was unable to supply U.S. News with IB data for 12th-grade students in 2014-2015 as it had in previous years.
2. What impact did a lack of IB data have on the 2017 rankings?
U.S. News recognizes schools with gold, silver and bronze medals, with gold medals indicating the greatest level of college readiness.
High schools that only use IB exams were not eligible for gold or silver medals this year. Like all high schools that pass Steps 1-3 of the methodology, IB schools were still eligible for bronze medals. Schools that offer both IB and Advanced Placement courses and that passed Steps 1-3 were eligible for gold and silver medals based on their AP exam performance.
3. What sources of information does U.S. News use to calculate the 2017 Best High Schools rankings?
U.S. News evaluated more than 28,000 public high schools across the country for the rankings. With this in mind, U.S. News does not collect data directly from high schools.
Rather, a number of data sources are used to produce the rankings, including the Common Core of Data from the U.S. Department of Education, which is the sole source for all U.S. high schools on information such as enrollment, size and the number of students receiving free or reduced-priced lunches. U.S. News also depends on the College Board for AP data and official sources in each state for state assessment data and high school graduation rates.
For more information, see the FAQs about Best High Schools.
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Why U.S. News Didn’t Include IB Data in 2017 Best High Schools Rankings originally appeared on usnews.com
