Summit Ranked 25th Best Public High School in NJ

Summit High School is ranked the 25th best public high school in the annual rankings by NJ Monthly Magazine.

The rankings, out last week, show that Summit has fallen three spots since last year. This year's list is based on 2008-2009 school year state report cards. Current Superintendent Dr. Nathan Parker had just joined the district that year.

"It always good to get some kind of reflections and benchmark yourself against similar districts," Parker said.

But in this case, he's not convinced that's what's being done.

Parker said that he questions the methodology used to compile the rankings, saying it is unclear exactly how each school is being evaluated and that the way certain things are weighted seems inappropriate. For example, the rankings give more points to students who go on to four year colleges instead of two-year or other secondary schools.

"The bottom line is student achievement; how are they getting prepared for the world of work and going off to college," Parker said. "I think that's the overall goal for us."

Parker also said the variability, the fact that schools came move so drastically in either direction from year to year, is a troubling aspect to giving the rankings credibility.

"It would be nice to be number one but if you look at the variability it could bounce up and bounce down based on the way this data seems to pile up," he said.

Parker also said he finds it hard to believe that anything could make certain districts move dramatically from last year to now.

"To me that's sort of really brings into question the methodology," he said.

Board of Education President Jack Lyness also said a difference between Summit and other districts is the diversity of the Hill City.

"Summit is a far different community in terms of its diverse population than any of the schools ranked above us," he said. "If you look at the size of the latino population in Millburn (2 percent) or Tenafly, Glen Ridge, New Providence, Chatham, Berkeley Heights, they are tiny relative to ours. And that population faces challenges – English as a second language e.g, or affording four year college, just to name two, which dramatically affect the outcome of "best."

"But I think most people in Summit celebrate our diversity and I suspect it gives our kids some skills not captured in the rankings. "

The district is also constantly doing self-evaluations to upgrade facilities, coaching practices, teaching techniques,

"We're definitely moving forward on all major functional areas, all to support student achievement" Parker said. "I'd put us up against any district in the state."

For the second year in a row Millburn High School came in at number one while other nearby high schools bested Summit

• New Providence, No. 5
• Chatham, No. 8
• Cranford, No. 13
• Madison, No. 15
• Livingston, No. 22
• Governor Livingston, No. 24

NJ Monthly uses a complex methodology in determining its annual Best Public High Schools list including rating schools in categories such as school environment, student performance, and student outcomes. These categories comprise things such as number of students who scored a 3 or better on an AP test, number of AP tests offered, SAT and HSPA scores, and number of students going to 4-year colleges, 2-year colleges or other colleges.

While next year's ranking will be based on data from Parker's first full year as superintendent, he said isn't concerned.

"I don't feel too much pressure from this ranking," he said. "There's always pressure, but I think that as long as you're doing the right thing, these things will take care of themselves."