Editor of The Tribune
HARLINGEN, Texas - There are the football teams that never seem to bridge into playing the game played upstate. Every season, Rio Grande Valley high school squads have one or two teams that run roughshod over local competition. But when they compete for state championships in their respective divisions, they all fizzle against the bigger and faster teams. It's the annual exercise in grand and busted dreams.
A recent study of what the kids are doing in public schools undertaken by The Washington Post yielded some interesting results. Post reporter Jay Mathews has been tracking Washington-area students since 1998, using a neat Challenge Index that measures how public high schools are preparing students for college. The newspaper then published its rankings. This year, Mathews went national with his survey.
I'll use his words to explain his methodology here: "The formula is simple: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school’s commitment to preparing average students for college."
So, using all that, The Post ranked the Science/Engineering Magnet High School in Dallas as the best in the country, Number One. Number two was the Talented and Gifted High School, also in Dallas.
Alternative schools, some called Charter schools, did well.
The Science Academy of South Texas in Mercedes grabbed the highest Valley ranking, coming it at #25. Another Mercedes school, the South Texas High School for Science Professions is ranked #32. Edinburg's South Texas Business, Education and Technology High is in at #89.
No other RGV high school cracked the newspaper's Top 1,000.
The findings are intriguing, especially in the face of Texas' decision to slash public school funding. The Lone Star State continues to lag behind the larger majority of the other 49 states in funding-per-student and in classroom achievement. Still, it is good news for the above-mentioned RGV schools that managed to gain a spot on the list.
Charter schools like to think they do things differently, and they do wonders with their spectacular teaching and curriculum innovations. But it's also refreshing to see traditional schools and their reading, writing and arithmetic, such as PSJA-North and Edinburg High School, do so well.
Unlike the football legends of the Fall, these are dreams fulfilled...
- 30 -
20 comments:
Good article. Hadn't heard much about some of those schools. Mercedes has some good footbal, btw. But no state champs yet.
That maid in the sidebar whow as atacked by the french guy is too cute to be a maid. Very pretty woman. She should sue that guy for everything he has. what an idiot!
Are you sure the Maid, didn't lead the old guy. She looks descent, and kind of young.
Of course we must remember, once a woman says stop, you better stop.
Mr. Editor, have one safe trip, enjoy the cool weather at nights. The state of Wyoming is pretty during this time of the year. The Mrs. will enjoy the scenery as well.
If you go to Kansas city check out the barbecue. it's as good as what you find in Texas. No kidding!
The Trib continues to write great stories that go somewhere. It is the best blog around here. By far. Thank you.
wild video on the Mexican school kids. That is a damned shame. For sure. Mexico is pretty stupid to let their kids feel the drug cartel violence.
Lady Gaga? and they expect to be taken seriously. Canseco was bad enough and now this? That's sad.
The independent league will do anything to bring get ticket sales up. Some of the teams can't even pay the bills, like the team in Harlingen. The players are overweight, all of them. As for Jerry, making a comparrison about high school and the wings, Jerry, some of your heros are rejects, listen to me rejects. They are following a pipe dream that is not going to happen.
Man, poor Mexican kids, what is wrong with the drug cartels??
Canseco marrying Lady Gaga, what a joke, although they may be in the same league, estan safados los dos.
Tony chapa's blog has been passed by the new MyHarlingenNews. Wow! that is god news. Chapaneco must be crying by now. MyHarlingenNews.blogspot has more comments and readers. Everyone can see that. Chapa is irrelevant now. ha ha ha
According to him, he is now concentrating in twitter and facebook, pinche viejo inservible.
That lady ga ga has a pretty descent looking body, huh, not bad, not bad at all. (side bar)
I hope Rick Morales stays away from Chapa. Because Chapa has baggage, one of his relatives was involved in drug dealings. His name was J. Villareal, we wonder why did Chapa moved after the police started the investigation. huh.
I hope the new polie chief opens up the investigation, in the penal code there is no statute of limitations for murder.
Tony Chapa is getting hammered on his blog and on the new MHN. He is being called a "tick" by his blogger Juan J. Ortega. Juan got it dead-on. Now Juan is going to be the next target for the Dwarf. A tick! ha ha ha
Chapisneco is deleting comments again, he erased a comment by capt. America, who wrote, drug dealings don't sit well with voters.
His only bloggers, jake, and loser Juan Jose ortega who ran two times as county commissioner and lost. The joke at the coffee shop, his own folks voted against him, hahaha.
DP-M you are being soft on the Brownsville politicos, some of those people believe they are doing well.
Browntown is falling apart and they think, the new cadre can save them. The comments I am hearing from the write in candidate at the morning breakfast, was she can't speak in public. A dumb blond.
Myharlingennews 12 stories 14 comments, some by Tony Chapa. One comment per story. The other Myharlingennews.blogspot.com is pummeling Tony's blog.
Juan Jose (Tortugas)Orejas is crying in TC shoulders because he was called a failed politquero.
The word is, they are twins.
Public school across the Rancho Grande Valley, Texas == " STARVING HARBOR BABIES FACTORY ".... specially from Matamoros and SAN FERNANDO, Tamaulipas. !!!
Post a Comment