N. S. schools ranked among best in state
The North Shore School District recently received recognition when the U.S News & World Report released its 2022 “Best U.S. Schools” ranking list, naming three North Shore schools in the top 15 in their categories in New York state. Sea Cliff School ranked 11th and Glen Head School 12th among best K-8 schools. North Shore Middle School ranked 30th among middle schools.
U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 of the 110,000 public elementary and middle schools analyzed for their report across the country, ranking them at the state and district levels. The best charter and magnet schools were ranked in stand-alone categories. The school ranking program began in 2007.
“Given that the scoring used to establish the top elementary and middle schools in the state was almost entirely rooted in students’ performance on mathematics and reading/language arts state assessments, this is truly an earned honor,” Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tom Dolan said. “By focusing on academics, these rankings provide parents insight into a key element of school quality— commitment to an academic program and the provision of resources to students and staff.”
The methodology for the brand-new rankings for K-8 schools focuses on two areas: math and reading proficiency—how well students perform on state assessments, and math and reading performance—how well they perform compared to expectations.
At Sea Cliff Elementary, 92 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 92 percent scored at or above that level for reading. Glen Head’s proficiency scores were the same.
“I am honored to be part of a learning community that continues to achieve such wonderful recognition,” Sea Cliff School Principal Jeanette Wojcik said. “Earning this distinction speaks volumes about the impact that our educators have on our students’ achievements in collaboration with the support from their families.”
Glenwood Landing, the third elementary school within the North Shore District, while not breaking the top 20, was ranked 97th out of the 2,211 elementary schools ranked in the state.
These rankings only include public schools, and the state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-19 school year, thus predating the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on test-taking.
“I am so proud of the work our teachers do each day to support our students’ academic development,” Glen Head School Principal Dr. Peter Rufa said in a release. “By creating a caring and innovative learning environment, our students have become committed individuals who possess a deep love of learning.”
Compared with the entire district, both Sea Cliff and Glen Head schools did better in math and reading. In the North Shore School District, 85 percent of students tested at the proficient level or higher for reading, and 90 percent tested at or above that level for math. The pair of elementary schools also scored better in math and reading compared with students across the state. Across New York, 47 percent of students tested at or above the proficient reading level and 50 percent for math.
U.S. News also ranked roughly 17,860 public high schools out of the nearly 24,000 reviewed. This is the count of public high schools that had a 12th grade enrollment of 15 or greater, or otherwise had sufficient enrollment in other high school grades during the 2018-19 school year to be analyzed.
North Shore Middle School ranked 30th among the 1,219 New York Middle Schools analyzed for U.S. News report, with an overall score of 97.62/100. Schools are scored and ranked on their students’ performance on state-required tests, graduation rates and how well they prepare their students for high school. Of North Shore Middle School’s students, 87 percent scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 80 percent scored at or above that level for reading.
The U.S. News Best High Schools rankings included 18,000 schools that were ranked on six factors based on their performance on state assessments, graduation rate and how well they prepare students for college.
