Melrose High School Doesn't Crack Top 50 Boston Magazine Schools
The magazine used a variety of statistics to compile its list. See how Melrose fared in a variety of categories.
Boston Magazine recently compiled its list of 222 Boston-area public and charter high schools and also narrowed down the top 50 schools in the area based on a variety of statistics, and Melrose High School and Mystic Valley Regional Charter School found themselves in the middle of the pack in a variety of categories.
Melrose High didn't find its way onto the Top 50 list in the magazine. Weston High School took top honors followed by Lexington High, Dover-Sherborn Regional High, Concord-Carlisle High and Wellesley Senior High.
Schools in the Melrose region that made the list include Andover High School (No. 27), Reading Memorial High School (No. 38) and Burlington High School at No. 43.
According to the sortable list in the article, Melrose High and Mystic Valley were in the middle of the pack in categories such as percent of graduation, percent to college, MCAS scores and SAT scores.
Melrose High features a 92.4 percent graduation rate and a 91 percent rate of students going on to college. Meanwhile, Mystic Valley has a 95.9 percent graduation rate and a 99 percent to college rate.
Melrose High's 10th grade English, math and science MCAS scores were 89, 79, and 60, respectively, which was also about average in the group of 222 schools. Mystic Valley's MCAS scores in those same three categories were 96, 93 and 95, respectively.
Boston Magazine also took into account SAT scores. In reading, Melrose High averaged a 514 while the top school came in at 622. In writing Melrose students averaged a 511 compared to a top score of 627, while in science local students scored a mean of 521 compared to the top score of 649. Mystic Valley's scores in those three categories were higher than Melrose High's at 533, 522 and 534, respectively.
So what's your take on the numbers? Do you think they accurately portray Melrose's educational efforts, or are they misleading? Let us know in the comments section below.
Ron Sen
6:36 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Standardized test results have value for trending, but what do these results measure? At the top of them, you will find remarkable CORRELATION with per pupil expenditure, median home price, and mean family income. Yes, Weston, Harvard, and Wellesley are wealthier than Lowell, Lawrence, and Chelsea. Achievement tends to parallel opportunity, demographics, and wealth.
Chris R
8:24 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Does this less than stellar evaluation surprise anyone? I think everyone would agree that MCAS scores and overall acheivement of schools is in direct proportion to the town's demographic profile, especially income. Sorry to say Melrose can not compete with Wellesley, Weston, Dover etc... I have always been an avocate and cheerleader for Melrose Public Schools but not anymore. As the parent of a recent graduate and a high school junior I am so discourage by the state of our high school. Teachers and administrators leaving in droves. I never thought I'd say this but I regret not sending my kids to private school. Things better change soon or students will be exiting the high school in droves or families will leave Melrose altogether.
Percy
10:32 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
And what about Mystic Valley RCS?
Mark Ouellette
12:45 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Hi Percy,
Thanks for the note. I've included Mystic Valley Regional Charter School data to the story.