(according to USN&WR)
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Second year in a row for ol' TJ.
Best high school in America
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ne1410s
- Posts: 2961
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Best high school in America
"When you argue with a fool, there are two fools in the argument."
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andrewjackson
- Posts: 3945
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Re: Best high school in America
Is this the one that ranks by AP or IB scores? That is a ridiculous way to rank since many schools don't offer those. The small rural school in Michigan where I used to teach would have received a zero from US News but we typically had half our senior class actually attending college part-time. It seems like that should count for something compared to taking standardized tests.ne1410s wrote:(according to USN&WR)
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Second year in a row for ol' TJ.
No matter where you go, there you are.
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ne1410s
- Posts: 2961
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 5:26 pm
- Location: The Friendly Confines
Re: Best high school in America
aj:
I think it's the former. All lists, like sweeping generalizations, are crap.Is this the one that ranks by AP or IB scores?
"When you argue with a fool, there are two fools in the argument."
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Flybrick
- Posts: 1570
- Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:44 am
Re: Best high school in America
My oldest son graduated from TJ last year.
It was/is an amazing place.
Competitive exam/admission process for entrance, have to keep a B or 3.0 average to stay in.
A Cray, a booster club with some seriously deep pockets, partnerships with NASA, et al, and a student body of Type A +s.
With that type of student body, they really didn't have many of the same issues as a 'normal' high school - drugs and other risky behavior weren't nearly as prevalent as the typical high school. Nearly every kid was a high achiever and didn't want to detract from his/her studies.
All classes are considered 'honors' level and most were AP. Someone in the education field correct me if I'm using the terminology wrong. The point is that the courses were all advanced and nearly all carried college credit.
The conversations between he and his friends were brainiac/nerd vs. sports, etc.
Starting with his freshman year homework, I had to tell him he was on his own as my political science degree wasn't really much help for the math he was really interested in.
He taught himself calculus over a summer so he could CLEP it to take an advanced calculas course during his 10th grade.
And so on.
The scholarship/big name university follow-ons for TJ is phenomenal (sp?) as well.
Unfortunately, my kid couldn't grasp that blowing off courses he didn't like - English, Geography (Geography, for pete's sake?!) affected the overall GPA and his future. So, goodbye MIT, hello VT.
Seriously, it is a fantastic school.
It was/is an amazing place.
Competitive exam/admission process for entrance, have to keep a B or 3.0 average to stay in.
A Cray, a booster club with some seriously deep pockets, partnerships with NASA, et al, and a student body of Type A +s.
With that type of student body, they really didn't have many of the same issues as a 'normal' high school - drugs and other risky behavior weren't nearly as prevalent as the typical high school. Nearly every kid was a high achiever and didn't want to detract from his/her studies.
All classes are considered 'honors' level and most were AP. Someone in the education field correct me if I'm using the terminology wrong. The point is that the courses were all advanced and nearly all carried college credit.
The conversations between he and his friends were brainiac/nerd vs. sports, etc.
Starting with his freshman year homework, I had to tell him he was on his own as my political science degree wasn't really much help for the math he was really interested in.
He taught himself calculus over a summer so he could CLEP it to take an advanced calculas course during his 10th grade.
And so on.
The scholarship/big name university follow-ons for TJ is phenomenal (sp?) as well.
Unfortunately, my kid couldn't grasp that blowing off courses he didn't like - English, Geography (Geography, for pete's sake?!) affected the overall GPA and his future. So, goodbye MIT, hello VT.
Seriously, it is a fantastic school.
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Appa23
- Posts: 3772
- Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:04 pm
Re: Best high school in America
Just for a point of clarification, I think that the list only was of the top Public high schools. (AJ already addressed the method of determination.)