With all of Dauber's World's sports teams failing to deliver in 2007 imagine the surprise when Dauber's World learned that the official high school of Dauber's World -- Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ for short) was named the top high school in America by US News and World Report. In fact here's an article about TJ .
In all honesty ranking high schools in order really does seem pretty silly. Does it really matter who is #1 and who is #37? Is it possible that some utility can be gained from looking at what makes a good school. It does seem a little absurd though to be so specific in ranking something that subjectively, and for what exactly? In ranking universities ostensibly you're helping prospective students, but high schools are a bit less mobile. Unless you live in Fairfax, Loudon, Prince William or Arlington counties (and Fairfax is the main feeder county by far) you can't go to TJ. Most all of the schools (if not every one on that list) are schools where you need live nearby to go to them. So what really is the point of explicitly ranking the schools other than an attempt to sell magazines?
Interestingly US News isn't the only publication looking into America's High Schools these days. The Wall Street Journal looked into how high schools fared in getting their students into the Ivy's. TJ makes this list too, but a bit farther down the list. Dauber's World has issues with the methodology that the Journal used. Lots of Ivys have legacies that make it MUCH easier for students to get in (if you have a parent that went to the school and gave money you're in -- look no further than our current president for proof. Incidentally does anyone realize how hard it is to have a C average at Yale?). Dauber's World is guessing that many of the Northeastern private schools have a number of legacies. Also looking at a single year isn't really a good measure for a high school's ability to get their students into the Ivys. What would have been more interesting would have been an average over the last decade or so.
In any event, not that this really helps Dauber's World in any way now, but thanks for making that diploma worth a little more.
