It’s a rite of spring in Arizona: The U.S. News & World Report’s national rankings of high schools come out and people argue about the BASIS schools.
Last week, people as important as Gov. Doug Ducey were celebrating the sweep of the top rankings by BASIS high schools in Arizona, including two in the Tucson area.
Most of those celebrating, it seemed, were Republicans.
Predictably, many other people, especially Democrats, pooh-poohed the results.
That’s because BASIS, which is not selective in its admissions, is reputed to drive out lower-performing students and win rankings by requiring students to take Advanced Placement tests.
Indeed, that, in the end, is how you place highly in the U.S. News rankings. You have a lot of students take a lot of AP tests and ensure they pass at least one.
What I found interesting this week was coming across letters from the leaders of the two local schools that have traditionally ranked highly in the U.S. News report — BASIS Tucson North and University High School, which requires students to take a test and have good grades to get in.
Here I need to acknowledge that my son will be attending UHS next year, so take that for what it’s worth. But I got these letters from current parents at each of the schools.
Erin Paradis, the head of school at BASIS Tucson North, 5740 E. River Road, wrote to parents:
As you may have heard or read, in the new public high school rankings released last night by U.S. News & World Report, all five BASIS Curriculum Schools which were eligible for its rankings were not only ranked — but were ranked among the Top 7 schools in the nation. We are excited to share that BASIS Tucson North was ranked as the #2 Best High School in the nation. This recognition reflects the hard work and commitment of our students, teachers, staff, and parents in supporting education at BASIS Tucson North.
BASIS Scottsdale, BASIS Tucson North, BASIS Oro Valley, BASIS Peoria, and BASIS Chandler were among those recognized as the top high schools by U.S. News & World Report. It is quite an honor not only for these individual schools, but also for every one of the nearly thirty BASIS Curriculum Schools in existence, as well as every student and teacher utilizing the BASIS Curriculum, every day.
I would like to express my gratitude to all of our BASIS Tucson North families for their support. Having our school ranked as one of the top in the nation is an incredible achievement, but it would not be possible without the persistent efforts of our students, the dedication of our teachers and staff, and the support at home from our BASIS families. It is truly an honor to be part of this remarkable learning community.
Amy Cislak, the principal at UHS, had a much longer and more ambivalent reaction to her school’s 15th-place ranking. Here are some excerpts, broken into shorter paragraphs for easier reading:
Congratulations to all of our Penguins! University High School was named the 15th best Public High School in America according to the U.S. News and World Report! (up from #24 last year). While we are certainly proud of this achievement, it is important for you to understand how these rankings work.
The U.S. News and World Report looks at the total number of AP exams a high school orders and the total number of students at the school as well as how well students do on those exams as well as AZMerit. This is certainly part of our picture and we are very proud of our students, teachers and their success, but I truly believe the success of UHS goes beyond this type of ranking.
University High School is a wonderful school with robust opportunities to stretch students’ intellect and engage in fulfilling activities, fine/performing arts and athletics to provide a well-rounded experience. With a school full of motivated students, we become vulnerable to overachievement which can lead to high stress loads and sometimes burn-out. We can prevent overdoing adolescence by tempering their measures of success... .
Believe me, I have no qualms about bragging about UHS, but to me, our goal should not be to be the #1 school in America according to a poll that bases ranking on how many tests we buy. I want UHS to be a great place where students achieve as innovators and great thinkers, but not focus so much on standardized metrics that we lose our sense of taking good care of our students.
{h6}McSally drops the bomb{/h6}
As Republican members of Congress met Thursday before voting on the American Health Care Act, our own Rep. Martha McSally got pretty salty in her impatience to move the bill forward, an Associated Press reporter said on Twitter.
Erica Werner, an AP congressional reporter, tweeted: “Martha McSally stood up in GOP conference meeting and said let’s get this ‘f---ing thing’ done. Yes, direct quote — per members and aides.”
While some people may be surprised or offended by the language, what bothered me more, as an avowed opponent of the bill, was the urgency to pass a law that could harm so many people in order to replace a system that is not collapsing.
{h6}Council signatures filed{/h6}
The signature-filing season is upon us in Tucson. This fall, voters will elect council members in Wards 6, 5 and 3.
The first to file signatures have been incumbent Ward 6 councilman Steve Kozachik and newcomer Paul Durham, who is running as a Democrat in Ward 3.
Candidates have until the end of the month to file signatures, but the minimum requirements are low — between 185 and 302 signatures for Democrats, depending on the ward, and even lower for Republicans.
