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Parents of high school students in the Boston area will be happy to know ratings are out for the top secondary schools in the city and its suburbs. Boston Magazine provides its annual list based on a number of factors that are carefully calculated into a single formula for ranking purposes. The magazine also breaks down rankings by various characteristics to make it easy for parents and students to get a complete picture of how schools across the city perform.

This video offers a look at how a survey is done.

How the Rankings are Calculated

According to Boston Magazine, there are 13 factors that go into the calculations for the annual rankings. The most weight was given to academic factors since the primary function of public schools is to provide a solid education to students. The criteria under academic performance included test scores for national tests like the SAT, as well as standardized examinations for the state. The magazine also took into consideration completion rates and the number of students heading to college after graduation.

Other factors that were not given as much weight but are still considered in the final calculations include the availability of extracurricular activities, such as clubs and sports. While these opportunities do not factor directly into academic performance, they do cultivate leadership and team-building skills, and they are valuable for beefing up college and employment

Jobs are ready and waiting in the United States today. Unfortunately, there are not enough skilled workers ready to fill those posts, according to many in the business sector. With that mantra in mind, the state of education in the U.S. appears to be facing a major overhaul. The focus is shifting from preparing all students for a four-year postsecondary education to providing at least some of those students with the skills necessary to find lucrative careers shortly after high school. Introducing technical education, revamped and ready for the 21st-century global market.

Skills Shortage in the U.S.

The training gap has been one that has slowly evolved over recent decades. Generations past were able to land good jobs right after high school, in manufacturing and other industries that benefitted from high school classes in technical subjects that were once known as “shop” courses. However, the workplace began to change, with manufacturing jobs requiring new skills as technology took over the assembly line. Unfortunately, the public school curriculum did not change with the time, and “shop” classes now considered irrelevant gradually became obsolete.

My San Antonio hinted at a change that is currently beginning to sweep high schools nationwide, by highlighting a portion of President Obama’s recent State of the Union Address. In his speech, the President stated that in order to compete on a global level with countries like Germany, high schools in America would need to do a better job of preparing high school students for

‘Tis the season for standardized testing at public schools across the country, as school districts gear up for statewide testing that provides a glimpse into how and what students are learning. The season is not typically met with happy anticipation by most students and teachers; in fact, the mood may better be described as anxiety and even trepidation. In a few areas of the nation, students and teachers are taking matters into their own hands, organizing boycotts of tests that some say are a waste of valuable instruction hours and inaccurate gauge of how well schools are teaching and students are learning.

Portland Opts Out

With the (OAKS) examinations looming in Portland, some students have decided that enough is enough when it comes to the statewide testing process. Members of the Portland Student Union have launched an opt-out campaign to protest the examinations with a district-wide boycott by students. According to , members of the student union are encouraging other students to boycott the examinations, by opting out on test days.

This video reports the situation with Portland students protesting standardized tests.

The reports that ideas of the boycott began to circulate when two different Portland Student Unions got together and realized they shared a common concern involving the state examinations. The students involved in

College preparation is one of the concerns facing secondary public schools across the country. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, one of the largest school districts in the country, one solution to ensuring college preparedness may be found at an innovative high school that combines high school and college for a rich academic experience. Cato Middle College High was created as a prototype for the rest of the state, allowing high school juniors and seniors a taste of the college experience while they are still finishing high school requirements.

About Cato Middle College High School

Cato was established by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district in 2007, as North Carolina’s first Middle College program. The school is located on the Cato Campus of Central Piedmont Community College, where students take both high school courses and earn college credits simultaneously. Only 100 students are enrolled at Cato at any given time, which ensures students get plenty of personalized attention from instructors while they are getting a head start in their college endeavors.

In this video, students describe some of the happenings at Cato.

Students take the last two years of their high school classes while on this campus. This typically consists of Advanced Placement or honors coursework. At the same time, students may take college classes through Central Piedmont Community College, tuition-free. Students can choose from any of the Central Piedmont campuses, taking courses in classrooms that are up