By Bess Markel
Be Bold, be extraordinary, be a pioneer. Most students pass those words many times throughout the school day when walking through C-hall. While that may seem like a lofty goal to many students, the Pioneer administration works to make Pioneer the most rigorous and academically challenging place it can be. A new U.S. News and World Report high school ranking has ranked Pioneer as the 8th best school in Michigan. Superintendent Jeanice Swift is extremely proud of Pioneer’s ranking, because she feels that it speaks to progress and growth for Pioneer. “Just 2 years ago, Pioneer was at 20th place in this same national analysis,” says Swift.
Pioneer is not the only Ann Arbor Public School that did well in the U.S. News ranking. Skyline High School ranked 15th in Michigan, Huron High School ranked 29th, and Community High School ranked 64th, out of the approximately 849 high schools in the state of Michigan. Pioneer, Skyline, Community, and Huron are all considered national silver medal schools by the U.S. News Rankings. Swift feels that this achievement shows the AAPS Community's dedication to high quality education. “This achievement continues a trend of Ann Arbor Public Schools high schools medaling in this rigorous national comparative assessment of high school programs.”
There are several factors that go into ranking the schools. U.S news evaluated approximately 849 public high schools in Michigan to determine their college readiness; they take into consideration the percentage of students taking AP classes, the percentage of students who passed the AP tests (to pass a student must get a 3 or higher) as well as mathematics proficiency and english proficiency. The last two data points are collected from standardized testing. 61% of Pioneer students are considered proficient in math and 68% are considered proficient in reading. These scores are higher than the Ann Arbor Public School District and State of Michigan averages. Pioneer received a total college readiness score of 54.2 out of 100 and was ranked the 556 best Public School in the country.
Both Dr. Swift and Principle Lowder feel that the AAPS staff’s commitment to education and to their students have helped make Pioneer a great place to learn. Swift, in a thank you note to the staff, said “Thank you for your caring, commitment and exceptional work on behalf of our Pioneer students and community!” Lowder also feels that this teachers have done incredible work. “It’s good to know that the work we are doing is positive. We recognize we still have work to do and we still want to improve. But it’s good to know the things we are doing to service our students seem to be working.”
While this ranking is a great accomplishment, like all ranking systems, there are some flaws in the U.S. News’s ranking operation. When calculating the college readiness score, U.S News does not into take into consideration many factors, such as percentage of students below the poverty line, or the percentage of students at the school who speak English as a second language. Standardized testing is not the perfect measure of student body intelligence, as many students are put at a disadvantage due to external factors. Not to mention, some students do not take AP tests because they cannot afford to take them. Long term Pioneer teacher and History Chairman Jen Kunec feels the ranking does ignore certain factors. “Every publication has a different formula, and not one of those formulas include socioeconomic status. I think being at the top with a diverse population is what makes Pioneer different from a lot of those other schools,” says Kunec. While Kunec feels that certain others schools that are ranked highly benefit from these not all inclusive rankings, she thinks Pioneer would still do well no matter the ranking factors. “What’s so astounding about all this is if you look at the high schools ahead of us they are not as diverse, economically, socially, ethnically, and racially. I think that’s what makes us stand out,” says Kunec. Kunec believes Pioneer’s wide range of opportunities work to help all students and not just the naturally academic achieving ones. “We do so much because we want all of our kids to improve. The Learning Center is one example of that. At Pioneer, it’s not just about the top students– that’s why I think if there were rankings based on a formula that didn’t just include test scores, I think we’d still do very well.”
Pioneer is not the only Ann Arbor Public School that did well in the U.S. News ranking. Skyline High School ranked 15th in Michigan, Huron High School ranked 29th, and Community High School ranked 64th, out of the approximately 849 high schools in the state of Michigan. Pioneer, Skyline, Community, and Huron are all considered national silver medal schools by the U.S. News Rankings. Swift feels that this achievement shows the AAPS Community's dedication to high quality education. “This achievement continues a trend of Ann Arbor Public Schools high schools medaling in this rigorous national comparative assessment of high school programs.”
There are several factors that go into ranking the schools. U.S news evaluated approximately 849 public high schools in Michigan to determine their college readiness; they take into consideration the percentage of students taking AP classes, the percentage of students who passed the AP tests (to pass a student must get a 3 or higher) as well as mathematics proficiency and english proficiency. The last two data points are collected from standardized testing. 61% of Pioneer students are considered proficient in math and 68% are considered proficient in reading. These scores are higher than the Ann Arbor Public School District and State of Michigan averages. Pioneer received a total college readiness score of 54.2 out of 100 and was ranked the 556 best Public School in the country.
Both Dr. Swift and Principle Lowder feel that the AAPS staff’s commitment to education and to their students have helped make Pioneer a great place to learn. Swift, in a thank you note to the staff, said “Thank you for your caring, commitment and exceptional work on behalf of our Pioneer students and community!” Lowder also feels that this teachers have done incredible work. “It’s good to know that the work we are doing is positive. We recognize we still have work to do and we still want to improve. But it’s good to know the things we are doing to service our students seem to be working.”
While this ranking is a great accomplishment, like all ranking systems, there are some flaws in the U.S. News’s ranking operation. When calculating the college readiness score, U.S News does not into take into consideration many factors, such as percentage of students below the poverty line, or the percentage of students at the school who speak English as a second language. Standardized testing is not the perfect measure of student body intelligence, as many students are put at a disadvantage due to external factors. Not to mention, some students do not take AP tests because they cannot afford to take them. Long term Pioneer teacher and History Chairman Jen Kunec feels the ranking does ignore certain factors. “Every publication has a different formula, and not one of those formulas include socioeconomic status. I think being at the top with a diverse population is what makes Pioneer different from a lot of those other schools,” says Kunec. While Kunec feels that certain others schools that are ranked highly benefit from these not all inclusive rankings, she thinks Pioneer would still do well no matter the ranking factors. “What’s so astounding about all this is if you look at the high schools ahead of us they are not as diverse, economically, socially, ethnically, and racially. I think that’s what makes us stand out,” says Kunec. Kunec believes Pioneer’s wide range of opportunities work to help all students and not just the naturally academic achieving ones. “We do so much because we want all of our kids to improve. The Learning Center is one example of that. At Pioneer, it’s not just about the top students– that’s why I think if there were rankings based on a formula that didn’t just include test scores, I think we’d still do very well.”