The U.S. News & World Report has issued its annual national rankings of high schools, and several local secondary institutions, either located in Lower Manhattan or else attended by large numbers of students from this community, have earned favorable mention.
Stuyvesant High School, located in Battery Park City, was deemed to rank number 44 among all secondary schools in the United States, and seventh among all New York City public high schools. Reviewers noted that Stuyvesant has a graduation rate of 99 percent, that 100 percent of its students are proficient in math and reading, and that 88 percent of pupils there passed at least one advanced placement exam.
The High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies, located on Grand Street, was ranked number 69 in the nation, and tenth among all New York City public high schools. With a graduation rate of 99 percent, 83 percent of its students passed at east one advanced placement exam, and they were rated proficient in math and reading at 97 and 99 percent, respectively.
Millennium High School, in the Financial District, was ranked at 150 in the United States and number 16 among all New York City public high schools. U.S. News determined that Millennium has a graduation rate of 99 percent, that 98 percent of its students are proficient in math and reading, and that 75 percent of pupils passed at least one advanced placement exam.
New Explorations Into Science, Tech and Math (NEST+M) High School, located at Houston Street, near the FDR Drive, ranked 256 in the nation, and number 16 among all New York City public high schools. At NEST+M, the graduation rate is 95 percent, while 96 percent of students are proficient in reading, and 87 percent are proficient in math. The rate of passage for at least one advanced placement exam is 82 percent.
The Lab High School for Collaborative Studies, located on West 17th Street, ranked at 373 in the United States, and number 22 among all New York City public high schools. At Lab, the graduation rate is 100 percent, while students were rated proficient in math and reading at 97 and 99 percent, respectively. Some 55 percent of Lab students passed at least one advanced placement exam.
And Beacon High School (on West 44th Street), ranked 452 among all high schools in America, and number 23 among all New York City public high schools. With a graduation rate of 98 percent, Beacon’s students are proficient in reading at 98 percent and in math at 13 percent. Among Beacon pupils, 42 percent passed at least one advanced placement exam.
The extent to which high-performing New York public high schools can serve as engines of upward mobility is illustrated by demographic metrics. At Stuyvesant, 43 percent of all students are economically disadvantaged and 81 percent are ethnic minorities. At Dual Language and Asian Studies, 89 percent of students are disadvantaged, and 98 percent are minority. Millennium’s student body includes 49 percent from a disadvantaged background, and 68 percent from minorities. At NEST+M, the disadvantaged cohort is 23 percent, while 59 percent are ethnic minorities. Lab’s population is 27 percent disadvantaged and 44 percent minority. And Beacon’s enrollment is 36 percent disadvantaged, and 53 percent minority.
The widely credited notion that student-teacher ratios predict academic outcomes is not borne out by these schools. The highest- and lowest-ranked institutions in this sample (Stuyvesant and Beacon) both have approximately 21 students for each teacher. The second- and third-ranked schools (Dual Language and Millennium) have nearly the same ratios, of 16 and 17 students per teacher, respectively. While the fourth- and fifth-ranked (NEST+M and Lab) vary between six and eleven student per teacher, respectively.
