Just to be a little provocative here...what is our primary objective
when reviewing these "rankings"?
Is it linked primarily to how well our children will do compared to
other children in order to get into college? (if so, how much does it
matter "which" college or simply 'best fit' for the kid)? None of the
'rankings' can really assess how well prepared a community's graduates
are for their next step - college, job, whatever. That's a combo of
skills, exposure, independence, maturity, opportunity, etc. They can be
'placed' with guidance counselors' help or not, and sometimes the
counselors aim too low or frankly places that are NOT a good fit (the
percentage of students transferring to a different college after year
one was rising for quite some time prepandemic).
Is it more for home valuations in the town of Lincoln compared to other
communities? (if so AP options, weighted grades etc. matter less;
potential home buyers rarely dig that deep).
Any reasonably self-motivated student can thrive at LS. I think the
real question is whether our kids are making the most of the
opportunities they are presented -- be that at private or public
schools. For those that may need more support or a big push, LS may not
be the best choice, particularly when they are coming from a very small
community like Lincoln. LS has a long history of wanting students to
learn how to advocate for themselves. This is a wonderful life
skill...which needs parents to step aside and only coach from the
sidelines.
I agree with Bryce, Sara and Diana...don't overthink the rankings, put
them into perspective, and question the things that matter more.
Lisa
Trapelo Rd.
LSRHS grad (+2 siblings who are alums)
parent of two LSRHS grads
------ Original Message ------
From: "Bryce Wells via Lincoln" <lincoln@lincolntalk.org>
To: "Sara Lupkas" <sara.lup...@gmail.com>
Cc: "Listserv Listserv" <lincoln@lincolntalk.org>
Sent: 4/27/2022 10:45:32 AM
Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] LS continues to slip
Well said and agreed.
I'm waiting - as I think we all are - for Dennis to dive through the
ranking criteria and provide some insight as to why some schools are
ranking better than others. As I've said on this forum before, both of
my boys are having very good experiences at LS, but that's just our
experience.
I did go and look at SAT performance for Mass schools and our students
average a combined score of 1274. I think it's fair to use SAT scores
as a proxy for college readiness, but feel free to disagree. I know
that many schools are switching back from "test optional" because the
SATs (or ACTs) are still the best indicator of academic success
freshman year. That 1274 ranks around 16th out of the districts listed
(around 300) and tied or better than Needham, Dover-Sherborn,
Winchester, Maynard. But trailing schools like Lexington (1356!), AB
(1333), Wayland (1302) or Concord-Carlisle (1286).
I've found that LS does things differently from what I anticipated...
there's no class rank, there's not a HUGE emphasis on AP classes, they
don't weight grades based on tougher course segments, etc... but the
course offerings are plentiful and the teachers are incredible.
On Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 10:15 AM Sara Lupkas <sara.lup...@gmail.com>
wrote:
I agree that the rankings are pretty meaningless. And LS is one of
only 8 districts in MA where more than 90% of AP tests taken resulted
in a score of 3 or higher:
https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-students-led-nation-in-ap-exam-success-in-2021-these-districts-led-the-way/39611943
No school district is perfect but I feel like LPS and LS work very
hard to meet the needs of their students, ranging from special
education services to enrichment and honors/AP classes. I also am glad
that my kids don't feel the achievement pressure that exists in some
neighboring districts, and that there is a strong emphasis on kindness
and inclusivity that I've seen.
On Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 9:08 AM DJCP <djcp0...@gmail.com> wrote:
My kids are still young and in elementary school, but these rankings
are next to meaningless. Fun to look at, but have no direct
correlation to real life achievement. I have no qualms at this point
about sending my kids to LS.
Diana Jong
Giles Rd
On Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 8:56 AM Tom Kennedy
<t...@kennedygroupboston.com> wrote:
LS is down to #85 in the state while towns all around us excel. Very
disappointing.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/26/metro/heres-look-top-ranked-massachus
etts-high-schools-according-2022-us-news-world-report/
<https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/26/metro/heres-look-top-ranked-massachusetts-high-schools-according-2022-us-news-world-report/>
Tom
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Sara Lupkas
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