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U.S. News and World Report Releases 2015 High School Rankings

By Aly Storch

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U.S. News and World Report recently came out with a national ranking of the best High Schools in the nation as well as rankings specific to each state. Columbia High School (CHS) was ranked #41 in the state of New Jersey out of 416 schools and #1006 in the nation out of over 6,000 schools that made the ranking and over 19,000 schools originally in consideration. The rankings are calculated taking into account the performance of the students on the school’s state proficiency test as well as how well the school prepares its students for college level work.

After disqualifying over 9,000 schools that were too small to analyze, U.S. News was left with 19,753 schools to rank. In order to do this, schools were judged in three steps. The first step compared the school’s students to what is statistically expected of students in the state. The school’s reading and math scores on the state proficiency test were analyzed and “we then factored in the percentages of economically disadvantaged students – who tend to score lower – enrolled at the schools to identify schools performing much better than statistical expectations,” according to U.S. News and World Report.

The next step is to determine if disadvantaged students including minorities and students from low-income families were performing better than disadvantaged students throughout the state. Again, the math and reading scores on the state proficiency test were used. Schools that were performing at a level higher than the state average were selected.

Finally, the third step judges the college-readiness performance of the school, or how well the school prepares its students for college. U.S. News used either Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) test data from the school to measure the school’s success in this category. The school was judged based on whichever program was more popular at the school. This data was used to determine the college-readiness performance because both programs offer courses and curriculum that are at a college level. A College Readiness Index (CRI) was calculated by “the number of 12th-grade students in the 2012-2013 academic year who took at least one AP or IB test before or during their senior year, divided by the number of 12th-graders – and how well the students did on those tests” explained U.S. News. The highest possible CRI is 100. This third step was the deciding factor that put the qualifying schools in a definitive order.

CHS has a CRI of 39.4 which earned the school a silver medal. 85% of the students at Columbia are proficient in mathematics and 96% are proficient in language. The AP participation rate or the percentage of 12th graders who took at least one AP exam at some point in high school is 43%. Of the students that took AP exams, 89% received a passing grade of a 3, 4, or 5. “I have always judged Columbia for other things like the atmosphere, appearance, and culture but, now that I think about it, this school does provide good education for many students and the ranking proved that,” explained Maya Braunstein, a junior at CHS. Columbia High School was able to show it’s improvement and achievements by moving from #96 in 2014 to #41 this year in 2015.

Christie Changes His Mind About Common Core

By Aly Storch

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New Jersey (NJ) Gov.Chris Christie announced his switch in position on the Common Core State Standards on Thursday, May 28th, while speaking at Burlington County Community College. Although Christie supported the Common Core State Standards for education during his candidacy for NJ governor, he now claims that after five years since the Common Core was adopted, “The truth is that it’s simply not working.”

The Common Core standards were created by governors and state education chiefs from 48 different states as a way to make sure students around the country are being prepared for collegiate level education and the work force. These educational standards are “the learning goals for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level,” according to Common Core State Standards Initiative.

The Common Core Standards have become politically polarized. Many conservatives are against the Common Core and claim that it is the federal government overreaching and having too much control. Although the federal government did not develop the Common Core, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association, “the Department of Education has done more than any other organization to propel the Common Core and is currently funding the creation of standardized assessments that are fully aligned with the Common Core.”

When Christie was running for his first term as NJ governor, he was in favor of implementing the Common Core State Standards. “The Common Core State Standards are a building block in our state's education system meant to ensure that teachers and districts can innovate within a framework of high expectations and accountability. They are based on the fundamental belief that every child in every classroom deserves an education that will properly equip them with the skills they need for college and a career. Our aggressive implementation of these standards in partnership with districts will ensure that our children have an education that will serve them well in the next stages of their lives,” said Christie in September of 2011. Christie was aligned with President Obama with regard to Common Core and believed that Republican opposition to it was just a reflex of Republicans needing to be against what the president is for.

However, this has all changed. Christie now believes that Common Core “has brought only confusion and frustration to our parents. And has brought distance between our teachers and the communities where they work.” Many people believe that it is no coincidence that Christie started to express his concerns at the same time that the presidential election is on his mind. Christie may be broadcasting his opposition to the Common Core in order to attract more Republicans since his previous opinion on the Common Core did not align with the popular opinion of his party.

Of course, this is just a theory. It is also unclear how big of a role a candidate’s stance on Common Core will affect voting. Similarly to Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker have changed their opinions on the Common Core from positive to negative. Jindal and Walker are both possible republican candidates and Huckabee has announced that he is running for president under the republican party. On the other hand, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, two other possible republican presidential candidates have expressed unwavering support of the Common Core. Christie is not the only one with controversial views on the Common Core and there is no telling how this will affect the election.

Zach Braff Returns to Columbia High School

By Aly Storch

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On May 29th, Columbia High School (CHS) inducted Zach Braff into the hall of fame. Braff graduated from CHS in 1993 and continued on to become a successful actor, screenwriter, and director.  He is best known for his leading role as John “J.D.” Dorian in the series “Scrubs” and writing, directing, and starring in “Garden State”. Braff has been nominated for many awards including Golden Globes, Emmys, and he has won a Grammy for “Garden State”.

The Hall of Fame Committee at CHS chooses inductees from a long list of successful CHS alumni at its meetings throughout the year. They choose people that were role models as students, are distinguished leaders in their current professions and are dedicated to the betterment of society. “Zach Braff was an ideal candidate not only because he is well known in his field but also because he was a model student at CHS and was part of the student council to improve CHS,” said Hannah Rosenfelder, the junior co-chair of the Hall of Fame Committee.

Braff speaking at the Hall of Fame Assembly
Image courtesy of Essex News Daily

Johanna Wright, the 2nd vice president of the Board of Education and retired health and physical education teacher from South Orange Middle School, taught Braff when he was in 8th grade and introduced Braff at the assembly. Wright said that Braff “is one of the most humble, unaffected people you’d ever want to meet.” Braff also showed the school himself that he has the traits necessary to be an inductee in his speech at the Hall of Fame assembly. Braff spoke about perseverance and resiliency, sharing his own experiences of rejection after rejection from when he was 13 years old to when he finally got his role on “Scrubs” at age 25. “Every single thing that I’ve accomplished in my life that people think is impressive or that I am very proud of is something that was preceded by a very very very long period of people telling me no, I couldn’t do that, or getting rejection,” Braff shared.

The annual Hall of Fame assemblies can be very rewarding for CHS students. Inductees, especially in the case of Zach Braff, provide students with role models and examples that show that any student at CHS can become successful in any way. Braff’s message will stick with the students. “Students are going to listen to him,” Caroline Van Zeijts, a senior at CHS and the President of the Executive Board told the News-Record after the ceremony. “Coming from someone like him, I think it’s really important that the students hear it.”