Norwell High School Makes Top 500 List

Newsweek Magazine names Norwell High School to top 500 public high schools in America

Norwell High School Makes top 500 list in AmericaNorwell High School makes the top 500 list in America and is once again in good company for 2016 with other top ranking public schools in the Commonwealth based on the national publication Newsweek Magazine.

Norwell High School has consistently been considered a top performing high school in the Commonwealth

Norwell High SchoolThe Norwell Public School district has always been considered a high performing educational system where students excel as evidenced by strong MCAS results, SAT scores, and AP performance. Norwell has also been named by  US News, Boston Magazine, Boston Business Journal and the Boston Globe as a top public school system based on its teacher to student ratio, per pupil spending, graduation rate and percentage of students taking multiple AP courses. In addition to strong scoring, AP placement and ultimately where graduates are accepted for College, the Norwell school district has done a good job creating a culture of exceptional learning and critical thinking, thus, recruiting the best and brightest new teachers.

Norwell-High-School-Makes top 500 list in AmericaNorwell High School was listed #332 in America and #12 in the Commonwealth

Norwell High School made the top 500 list and earned the #332 spot in the United States and #12 spot out of 18 public high schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There were 6 Massachusetts public high schools that made the top 100 in the country.

Newsweek Magazine published its findings and not surprisingly, Norwell High School made the top 500 list in America based on research and measurements conducted by the research and analytics firm Westat.  According to Newsweek, the analyzed data was focused upon answering the primary question: “Does this high school prepare students for college?” Included in the analysis were college enrollment rates, graduation rates, test scores and more.

In all, 6,477 of the nation’s 15,819 public high schools met the criteria to be considered in Newsweek’s rankings. Newsweek used school performance data from the National Center for Education Statistics to narrow down the list of schools. Of those 6,477 schools, 4,760 were considered for the overall rankings.

apples and orangesComparing various “TOP” school rankings are usually Apples and Oranges

Now, some people may be confused, agree or disagree with the different publications offering analysis and which public schools top their ranking list. There can be a lot of differences between the various lists, which can raise the question – how accurate are these school ranking lists anyway? Keep in mind there’s a lot of pride behind these lists and it can really help a community in terms of property values and the correlation of how willing taxpayers in those towns are willing to pony up for school overrides. But, the criteria from one list to another can differ quite a bit, making the lists confusing. In fact, you need to understand the weighting used in each ranking in order to compare the lists. It can be apples and oranges, but one thing is for sure – Norwell High School and the entire district is consistently listed on various publications each year for students excelling and other positive benchmarks that makes it a top school district in the Commonwealth. To view all Norwell school district data and statistics, click here.

Newsweek, based on the analysis conducted by Westat Research studied six measurements and weighted them to come up with a “college readiness index.” The rankings are meant to show how well high schools do at preparing students for college. To view Westat’s technical brief and analysis for Newsweek’s 2016 ranking, click here.

The measurements and their weight used in Newsweek’s analysis are:

  • Holding power: 10 percent
  • Ratio of counselor/full-time equivalent to student enrollment: 10 percent
  • Weighted SAT/ACT: 17.5 percent
  • Weighted AP/IB/dual enrollment composite: 17.5 percent
  • Graduation rate: 20 percent
  • College enrollment rate: 25 percent

Top public high schools in MassachusettsHere are the top Massachusetts high schools that made the list, and how they ranked nationally:

1. Boston Latin School, Boston (#28 nationally)

2. Westford Academy, Westford (#47)

3. Weston High School, Weston (#53)

4. Lexington High School, Lexington (#80)

5. Westborough High School, Westborough (#95)

6. Brookline High School, Brookline (#99)

7. Hingham High School, Hingham (#104)

8. Algonquin Regional High School, Northborough (#129)

9. Marblehead High School, Marblehead (#143)

10. Arlington High School, Arlington (#248)

11. Medway High School, Medway (#312)

12. Norwell High School, Norwell (#332 nationally)

13. Belchertown High School, Belchertwon (#359)

14. Millis High School, Millis (#395)

15. Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, South Hamilton (#400)

16. Braintree High School, Braintree (#436)

17. Nipmuc Regional High School, Upton (#466)

18. Medfield High School, Medfield (#476)

Eleven schools that made the 2015 list were not in the top 500 in 2016. Those schools are: Dover-Sherborn Regional High School, Newton North High, Hopkinton High, Shrewsbury Senior High, Groton Dunstable Regional, Longmeadow High, Georgetown High, King Phillip Regional High, Ashland High, Natick High and Chelmsford High. It’s possible these school districts did not respond to the survey and thus, did not receive the proper accolades and ranking in this year’s analysis, as these high schools have always been top notch public schools.

View the full list of the top 500 high schools in America here: http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2016

George Jamieson, a trusted and experienced Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty in Norwell, MA can help you in your home buying or selling needs. Please contact George at 617-877-4839 or via email at George.jamieson@cbrealty.com. If you would like to search for homes in Norwell, please click here.

2 thoughts on “Norwell High School Makes Top 500 List

  1. And the #1 school in the commonwealth required a leadership change due to a hostile learning environment. I’d be more interested in the top high schools, nationally, that are preparing students for real life.

Leave a Comment