WOW. Practically all of the former posts are negative.
This is an honor for God's sake.
THIS IS A GOOD THING not something to be maligned
Why are you such a bunch of mean spirited, dour, souless individuals.
These are kids we are talking about here.
GOOD KIDS WHO DO WELL.
Stop the crap.

Given the way you write, I wouldn't have thought you went to any high school.

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ops, well that just retarded way of ranking...

jenny mala, what makes sense?

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It's all starting to make sense now...

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Jeez wibbit, read the thread. my post #12 explains all.

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i think this list is crap, my high school is not on it wtf...

http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-s ... rk/stuyvesant_high_school

It is well known that some out of town teachers received dispensation to bring their children to McNair. That practice has been eliminated (allowing the students already admitted to graduate).

What evidence do you have that "unqualified" students are getting in? -- and how are you defining unqualified?

The scandal regarding McNair is how many out of town students go there. Many students with bogus Jersey City addresses get in. Also, teachers residing out of town get their kids in. Finally, the wonderful Dr. Epps pulls strings to get unqualified students in.

Oh for Pete's sake, anyone who gets into McNair is a "scholar" already. It's not as though the kids just pop in at 9th grade and become hard working students.

The school has earned its place for a reason, but it's kind of hard to screw up the marathon when you're starting from mile 24.

K-Lo, a McNair mom

Oh and the night before Halloween somebody spray painted a huge wang and the words "Ms. (something or another) IS A BITCH" on the school's front doors and steps.

Just city litter. It's actually the smallest pile of crack vials I have ever seen. And it was bigger when I first walked past, seems like some disappeared. Maybe they still had rock in 'em, who knows.

Quote:Are you saying it?s the source of their success, supplemental income, or just urban incongruity?

There has been a pile of "medical vials" across the street from that school for almost a week.

And you folks are so concerned with paper plates.

Jersey City's McNair Academic High School Soars Above It All

BY Karen Angel
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, December 1st 2009, 6:50 PM

Stephen Selby leads his social studies class at McNair Academic High School, once again named among the best in New Jersey.

In a district where 24 out of 38 schools failed to meet the state Education Department's definition of "adequate yearly progress" last year, Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School stands out.

Every year, 100% of McNair's students pass New Jersey's High School Statewide Assessment test.

The downtown Jersey City magnet school, named after the African-American astronaut who died in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion, has been ranked the top high school in New Jersey for six years by New Jersey Monthly magazine.

Last year, McNair was one of nine New Jersey schools and 320 in the nation recognized as outstanding No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

So, how does McNair take inner city kids and turn them into scholars who go on to some of the country's best colleges?

"I think it's the environment," said social studies teacher Stephen Selby. "Even the weaker kids, when you have high expectations, usually will meet those expectations."

The school is in a district where at least 30 languages are spoken, and about 45% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

Though McNair accepts students based on test scores, grades and recommendations - some 200 every year out of about 1,300 applicants - Principal Edward Slattery said the 33-year-old school's success is more than a function of simply handpicking the students most likely to excel.

"We have a very strong continuity of leadership, and we know the direction we want to take the school," said Slattery.

Students are primed for college acceptance early on, taking the PSAT exam in ninth, 10th and 11th grades to prepare for the SAT.

"McNair has developed and maintained a culture of high expectations that is embedded in everything they do," said Assistant Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks, head of the state Education Department's Division of District and School Improvement.

Ariellen Orense, 16, a junior who expects to be the first in her family to go to college and plans to enter the medical field, was enthusiastic about McNair's variety of offerings.

"It offers a lot of AP courses you can't find at other schools," said Ariellen. "It's one of the top schools in the nation, and it's right here in my neighborhood."
kangel@nydailynews.com

On another note :

There is a memorial for Dr. Solberg this Saturday at 6pm.

She was one of the best teachers in an excellent staff.

I agree with brewster that the methodology is crap.

McNair does very well because it is like Stuyvesant (selecting the top students from a large pool), but qualifies to be on the list because it's not quite as good as Stuy (selecting not quite as good of a selection from not nearly as large a pool).

yet ... it is still the best public high school in the state.

newsweek ranks the schools by the number of students taking advanced exams to all graduating seniors. this can easily be inflated by mandating that all students (freshman and up) enroll and take the exams, and that is why these rankings are often biased and easily manipulated.

focusing at the number of students actually passing one of these exams, mcnair's ranking increases markedly, and actually exceeds the ranking of the top rated school in the nation

it is important to note, that mcnair's ranking is highly volatile, moving between from 15 to 83 within one year.

My post from last years McNair thread on why the ranking is mostly hooey.

http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... id=153162#forumpost153162

Take this ranking with a grain of salt. The only reason McNair is on the list is that it's SAT's are low for a "test in" school. Apparently the cream of JC just isn't that creamy, but it's still a little unfair for it place out schools who take all comers in their districts.

From the faq on the report
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My freshman year we were number 15.

McNair rated as the top High School in New Jersey, however it dropped from 30 last year to 85 in overall ranking this year according to Newsweek's list.

Newsweek's Top 1500 Schools

The methodology of this ranking seems more legitimate than the Newsweek ranking which excluded Stuyvesant and other top test entry schools. Kudos to McNair!

An excellent school. My son is very happy there.

For those of you needing a little boost of local JC pride, you can rejoice in the recognition that McNair Academy just received from US News and World Report. They ranked McNair among the top 50 public high schools (in the US) and it was second in the state oj NJ. Pretty nice...

For those interested in a link to the article, here you go: US News and World Report Article

Enjoy!

From Wikipedia: Collectively, the Class of 2006 earned more than $200,000 in scholarships.

That is either a mistake or these kids are really being shortchanged - 200K doesn't even cover the cost of two students at a private college.

why not turn the "harsimus stem" into ballfields for the nearby prestigious high school?

http://www.njmonthly.com/topschools/hslist.lasso


82nd place Newsweek's May 8, 2006, issue listing the Top 1,200 High Schools in the United States[1], making it the highest ranked out of any other schools in New Jersey.
15th place in Newsweek's national 2005 survey.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Rona ... Nair_Academic_High_School

I dug around on that website a little. What nonsense!!!

How about the "best towns to live" listing. Hoboken ranks 11th of 12 in Hudson County and 429 of 566 for the state, well behind JC's 284. Anybody buy this crap? Maybe someone should tell Corzine he's doing a Corey Booker and actually slumming it.

Not that I don't want my kids to get into Academic, but these rankings are all hooey. Not only should Academic be excluded due to being a "test in" school, but the Newsweek rankings give them a "by" because they're SAT's are lower than some of the regular public schools!

To give weight to "offering" AP classes, as the Newsweek rankings do, is silly. High schools should be ranked by outcomes, like college admission rates indexed by competitiveness of the college. Getting into a college that accepts 10% would count for more than a school that accepts 90% and you take only the top 3 admissions of any student.

Check out Millburn. More teachers with advanced degrees than our "premier" school, higher SAT's, and although fewer students take the AP's they score much better. Much of Academic's record appears to be going through the motions of, rather than actually BEING, a better school.

Like JC in general, our schools need improved leadership.

New Jersey Monthly Magazine ranked McNair the TOP Public High School in New Jersey!

The stats.