The U.S. News and World Report annually publishes a list of the nation’s, and each state’s, top high schools. For the past few years, BSGE has ranked among the top ten high schools in the state, and among the top 50 in the country. Last year the school was placed at #5 in New York, and #32 nationwide, ranking above Bronx Science and Stuyvesant, among others. This year though, BSGE was not listed among the top ten, or even the top 50 in the state, but rather has lost its high ranking.
This is because of “the lack of IB data,” as stated by the U.S. News and World Report. This year, the newspaper was unable to receive data from the IB, dramatically dropping the school’s rank. As the school is based of the IB program, there was very little data for the newspaper to base the school off of. The most that was gathered was the general statistics, such as number of students and their ethnicities, as well as standardized math and English test scores. There was no mention of the fact that most of the students take IB exams, which is necessary for an important statistic known as the “college readiness index.” This means BSGE now has a bronze medal with no official ranking, besides being “nationally recognized.”
Some were upset at these results, as they felt that the school deserved to be recognized for its quality of education. For example, Kayla Powers ’20 said, “I feel like our school is not being recognized for its potential, and we might lose students because of it.” It is true that in recent years more and more eighth graders have been choosing to attend specialized high schools, rather than staying at BSGE. This new ranking may make them even more likely to leave, as well as give hopeful new students a bad perspective of the school.
While there have been some changes in scheduling and classes this year, the school’s curriculum and IB program has relatively stayed the same compared to last year. The ranking does not fully reflect the teaching, and BSGE does not come off as good as it should have. Another student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said, “No matter what, BSGE is still a good school. The ranking was just a number, and its near impossible to subject a full body of students and teachers to a few digits.” While it did not overall affect their view of the school, they were disappointed by the lack of recognition by the U.S. News and World Report, saying, “Next year, I hope that the paper takes a closer look at the schools that they rank and consider more aspects of the school rather than just statistics and test scores.”
While this year, BSGE didnt even rank on the list, it is still a great learning environment for students and strives to make sure that they are prepared in the future. Hopefully though, next year the U.S. News and World Report will receive the IB data and give us a higher rank, similar to the ones that it has in the past.
The BACC Rag 