Top High School

Choosing a top high school is a very personal decision. If it offers what is important for you and fulfills your priorities it becomes your choice of a top high school.

It does not matter then if it is a public school or a private school.

Usually even the best public schools are overcrowded and receive inadequate funding.

However they offer a social and cultural diversity that no private school can.

Bringing children up in the real world is often the main priority for some parents.

It is generally believed that private schools provide a better education, have smaller classes, more resources and give more attention to their students. The kids here usually do better in reading, math, science and writing than public school students.

Many choose a school based on its proximity to the home. More often when relocating, people choose homes near a good school!

Many other criterion are used by parents to judge a school including small class size, extracurricular activities available, second language opportunities and of course high test scores.

The district office can provide ‘school report cards’ which detail the standardized test scores at different class levels. You can compare schools based on this.

You can also find out the school’s expenditure per pupil from the school district’s annual report as this is linked with the school’s quality.

Check out what percentage of the students goes on to college. The best way to find out if it is a top high school by your values is to visit it during a regular school day. Just get a feel of the school and check out its facilities.

Find out if they have full time guidance counselors, an on-site nurse and a librarian. Determine what the school offers outside the classroom by way of extracurricular tutoring, sports, a yearbook program or the arts. All these make for a top high school.