EATON — In late August, U.S. News & World Report published numerical ranks for public high schools across the nation, focusing on school specific data like graduation rates and assessment results, participation in and performance on college-level coursework. School officials discussed Eaton High School’s ranking at a recent meeting.
The U.S. News Best High Schools rankings include data on nearly 25,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 18,000 schools were ranked on six factors based on their performance on state assessments and how well they prepare students for college.
In addition to the main national rankings, there are also numerical rankings for public high schools in each state.
EHS is ranked #4,561 in the national ranking with an overall score 74.2 and is ranked 167th within Ohio.
“You know, when you look at it, when you break it down, on their rankings Eaton is in the top 25 percent,” Superintendent Jeff Parker said. “And then in Ohio was like top 15 percent, at 167 out of over 1,000 high schools in Ohio. Sure everybody likes to be number one or whatever. But I think again, based on who we are, I think that’s pretty good recognition and I think recognition we should take some pride in.”
It’s high school — but that’s a K-12 effort,” Parker continued. “It goes back now a long time, when I was high school principal, but a lot of those teachers are still there and have been there. And I know firsthand, a lot of them, I know they’re pretty good teachers and I know the leadership that Scott (Principal Couch) provides, and Ross (Assistant Principal Dearth) provides. I’m really not surprised.”
“It’s good for the teachers to receive some of that reward for their hard work,” Couch said. “Our goal is to prepare kids regardless of what they want to do. After high school, whatever career path they choose. This is more college based and in talking with kids that are in college now they say they feel prepared.”
“That reflects back to the work done by the teachers in the classroom and taking kids where they are academically,” Couch added. “And moving them forward, using that data to drive that instruction and get them to where they need to be.”
“I think that our high school teachers are some of the most collaborative and willing to do what’s best for kids that I’ve worked with,” Assistant Superintendent MissAnne Imhoff said. “They’re very driven for making sure that the students graduate with what they need for life not just for English or social studies.”
“They, when you know every time the assessment changes — they’re like okay, what do we need to do differently? They look at their data and they get irritated if they drop in percentages — it’s like, ‘what do we need to do because we want to be here.’ They are very driven for how to help the kids to move forward,” Imhoff added.
“I think the biggest thing that you hear is they’re driven because they want what’s best for the kids, no matter what area they’re choosing, whether it’s post-secondary, whether it’s work, whether it’s military, and they really do and that’s why that caring and passion goes into what drives the instruction. We will not be part of a system that is defined by just test scores. And I do think that’s where our legislators get lost,” Parker said.
How did Eaton High School perform nationally and statewide out of 17,680 nationally ranked schools and 741 schools ranked in Ohio?
•College Readiness Index: #8,143 in the nation and #293 in the state.
•College Curriculum Breadth Index: #9,267 in the nation and #319 in the state.
•State Assessment Proficiency: #2,983 in the nation and #120 in the state.
•State Assessment Performance: #3,747 in the nation and #160 in the state.
•Graduation Rate (91 percent): #10,108 in the nation and #444 in the state.
Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on X @emowenjr.
