05-28-2003, 07:57 PM
I recieved my weekly Newsweek and Time magazines, and giddy with anticipation I opened it up and began to read the cover story which I knew would include pictures of some of my friends, as the number one school in the nation, according to Newsweek, is within my district.
You can find the article at http://www.msnbc.com/news/917011.asp?0nw=n2d and the complete list of the top 737 at http://www.msnbc.com/news/912995.asp?cp1=1 .
What I found inside the article was hardly what I was expecting however as I read through it I began to get a little bit more frustrated and a little bit more angry at the authors. The most infuriating line of course, being
Shy away from the workload? I'm friends with several of the students at the Internation Academy, while their 'workload' is higher than us in a few cases there are others where the students have less homework on average than those of us that go into one of the local schools. Not only that, but one student who visited Andover (my home school) when considering leaving The I.A. to come to our school next year found that our classes in some cases were actually more difficult than what they were currently studying - though, that might have been due to the fact he wasn't studying it.
The fact of the matter is though if you look closely at the statistics for example, The I.A. is ranked with a 6.323 ratio and its closest competitor Stanton College Prep comes in at a whopping 5.639, you'll realize that these statistics seem a bit odd. What are they based on? What IS the ratio? What about the schools? Well, the statistics are based upon the number of AP/IB tests taken divided by the number of graduating seniors. Yes, I am saying that the statistic has NOTHING to do with the scores on the exams - it is based solely on the number of tests given and the population at the school!
I am not debating whether or not The International Academy is a good school, I know it is a fantastic educational facility but it shouldn't be ranked number one simply because of a ratio that is given when all Juniors/Seniors at said school are FORCED to take AP/IB exams. Shouldn't a schools actual performance on said exams be more important than whether or not they took them? I most certainly believe so, as do many of my peers at Andover.
Another glazing over in the article is a picture that is on pages 52 and 53. There is a picture of The International Academy's portion of the Bloomfield Hills robotics team with their national championship robot as well as with the caption
Anyone think this is just a slight bit misleading? I certainly do, sounds like this is the official International Academy Robotic's Team, who are now national champions - except it isn't. This is the International Academy's members of the Bloomfield Hills Robotic's Team.
I could go on, but this is beginning to get a little bit longer than expected already and I want to hear the input of others. I intend on writing an email or letter to Newsweek sometime in the next couple of days with my friends... But with all this information that I've got to shed on this article, I'm wondering if anyone agrees with me on the fact that a schools SCORES should be used to judge their places at the #1, #2, or #59712987321 instead of the number of people taking the tests. I'm wondering if the misrepresentation in Newsweek about the "International Academy's Robotic Team" *cough* Bloomfield Hills Robotics Team *cough* are enough to help look at this article the right way. I disagree with the article on many of its points, but mostly those which talk about the IA and how it is so 'great'. It isn't anything special, its just a school where there are no sports, where there are no gym classes, where you have 6 academics and some sort of music class. You are forced to take the APs, you are forced to take it all. To put it as one of my friends did "We have the choice to take those tests, and thats why our school is better."
Either way, it comes down to this... I needed to vent a bit, share my opinion. What do you think?
Baylan
You can find the article at http://www.msnbc.com/news/917011.asp?0nw=n2d and the complete list of the top 737 at http://www.msnbc.com/news/912995.asp?cp1=1 .
What I found inside the article was hardly what I was expecting however as I read through it I began to get a little bit more frustrated and a little bit more angry at the authors. The most infuriating line of course, being
Quote:The commitment to giving more high schoolers a useful dose of college exam-week trauma has turned an old elementary-school building in Bloomfield Hills, MIch., into an IB hothouse - and the top school on the 2003 NEWSWEEK list. Five hundred teenagers, picked by a lottery from 13 local district, have enrolled in the International Academy, while their neighborhood friends shy away from the workload.Page 53, paragraph 5
Shy away from the workload? I'm friends with several of the students at the Internation Academy, while their 'workload' is higher than us in a few cases there are others where the students have less homework on average than those of us that go into one of the local schools. Not only that, but one student who visited Andover (my home school) when considering leaving The I.A. to come to our school next year found that our classes in some cases were actually more difficult than what they were currently studying - though, that might have been due to the fact he wasn't studying it.
The fact of the matter is though if you look closely at the statistics for example, The I.A. is ranked with a 6.323 ratio and its closest competitor Stanton College Prep comes in at a whopping 5.639, you'll realize that these statistics seem a bit odd. What are they based on? What IS the ratio? What about the schools? Well, the statistics are based upon the number of AP/IB tests taken divided by the number of graduating seniors. Yes, I am saying that the statistic has NOTHING to do with the scores on the exams - it is based solely on the number of tests given and the population at the school!
I am not debating whether or not The International Academy is a good school, I know it is a fantastic educational facility but it shouldn't be ranked number one simply because of a ratio that is given when all Juniors/Seniors at said school are FORCED to take AP/IB exams. Shouldn't a schools actual performance on said exams be more important than whether or not they took them? I most certainly believe so, as do many of my peers at Andover.
Another glazing over in the article is a picture that is on pages 52 and 53. There is a picture of The International Academy's portion of the Bloomfield Hills robotics team with their national championship robot as well as with the caption
Quote:The robotics team at International Academy, which recently captured a national championship, also draws from area schools.
Anyone think this is just a slight bit misleading? I certainly do, sounds like this is the official International Academy Robotic's Team, who are now national champions - except it isn't. This is the International Academy's members of the Bloomfield Hills Robotic's Team.
I could go on, but this is beginning to get a little bit longer than expected already and I want to hear the input of others. I intend on writing an email or letter to Newsweek sometime in the next couple of days with my friends... But with all this information that I've got to shed on this article, I'm wondering if anyone agrees with me on the fact that a schools SCORES should be used to judge their places at the #1, #2, or #59712987321 instead of the number of people taking the tests. I'm wondering if the misrepresentation in Newsweek about the "International Academy's Robotic Team" *cough* Bloomfield Hills Robotics Team *cough* are enough to help look at this article the right way. I disagree with the article on many of its points, but mostly those which talk about the IA and how it is so 'great'. It isn't anything special, its just a school where there are no sports, where there are no gym classes, where you have 6 academics and some sort of music class. You are forced to take the APs, you are forced to take it all. To put it as one of my friends did "We have the choice to take those tests, and thats why our school is better."
Either way, it comes down to this... I needed to vent a bit, share my opinion. What do you think?
Baylan