I am on the alumni directory for the Academic Magnet High School in Charleston, despite never graduating from there. An email was sent yesterday to the list about AMHS being #10 on Newsweek’s newest list of the 1200 top US high schools. I was very much pleasantly surprised; I didn’t know AMHS was THAT good. What surprised me MORE, however, was the notable absence of my actual alma mater, the SC Governor’s School for Science and Math, which also lacks a Wikipedia entry. On a list of the 1200 top US high schools, I would have definitely expected Governor’s School to be above AMHS in ranking …
Well, it turns out that several schools, termed the “public elites”, were excluded from the rankings. To quote: “NEWSWEEK excluded these high performers from the list of Best High Schools because so many of their students score well above average on the SAT and ACT” :) All of the various state Academies/Governor’s Schools are on this “public elites” list, including the infamous Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
I guess I really did get a first-rate education. Not to mention some kick-ass friends for life :)