BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- As kids go back to school across Massachusetts - a number of schools are being recognized as being some of the best in the country.
We recently told you 19 Mass. schools ranked in Newsweek's top 500 public high schools, nationwide. But when we dug into the numbers, we found a lot of differences from other lists, which raises the question - how accurate are these school ranking lists?
Publicized school rankings can have a big impact on population, property values, not to mention community pride and many take it personally. But Henry Braun doesn't think you should. Braun is a professor of educational research and measurement at Boston College, he says the criteria used is often different from one lists to another.
"The weighting used to rank in order to combine really, apples to oranges has a big impact on who gets to be a higher ranking. And if you change those weightings as people often do, then positions shift," he said.
The top five Mass. high schools according to Newsweek are Dover-Sherborn Regional High School, Medfield High, Weston High, Newton High and Westwood High. Those rankings are in line with Boston Magazine's annual "Best of School Rankings" list.
Carly Carioli, editor-in-chief of Boston Magazine, said, "The highest ranked school in the Newsweek poll was also our number one which was Dover-Sherborn. The top three for them were Dover, Medfield, Weston and Newton-North, and those were all in our top 20."
Why did some schools make it, and others didn't?
Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Jim Impoco tells FOX25, "Our rankings are exceptional because of the many factors we take into consideration when selecting top schools as well as our look at inequality when it comes to education. We have unique insight into what public schools across the country are doing to prepare their students for college, which is a critical next step for graduating teens."
How are the lists compiled?
The data used to determine Newsweek's list came from the National Center of Education; and is measured using an accountability system provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education. Its a combination of many metrics including: SAT and ACT scores, drop-out rates, teacher student ratios, graduation rates and college enrollment rates.
Media Consultant Diane McNamara worries readers don't know or understand the criteria when they read school ranking lists.
"Why is Forbes list different from US News and World Report, different from Newsweek, different from Boston Magazine?"
"When you have one outlet deciding the best is based off this criteria, and another outlet based on this criteria, you have confusing information," she said.
Confused would describe many people on the FOX25 Facebook page after seeing Newsweek's list:
One person said, "Manchester-Essex didn't make it? Very surprising."
Several people asked about Boston Latin, including one of our viewers, saying, "Boston Latin not on the list? Something's not right here."
All comments that support Braun's idea of not taking these lists too seriously.
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Take a look at the full lists below:
MASSACHUSETTS DEPT. OF EDUCATION: http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/accountability/2014/LEAbrochure.pdf
VIEW BOSTON MAGAZINE'S BEST PUBLIC SCHOOLS LIST:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/boston-best-schools-2015-chart/
VIEW NEWSWEEK'S TOP 500 HIGH SCHOOLS IN AMERICA:
http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2015
TOP 19 MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO NEWSWEEK, AUGUST 2015
16. Dover-Sherborn Regional High School
52. Medfield Senior High School
54. Weston High School
67. Newton High School
75. Westwood High School
93. Hopkinton High School
115. Hingham High School
128. Shrewsbury Senior High School
139. Gronton-Dunstable Regional High School
207. Longmeadow High School
253. Newburyport High School
278. Georgetown High School
315. Arlington High School
381. King Phillip Regional High School (Wrentham)
396. Marblehead High School
424. Ashland High School
448. Natick High School
451. Braintree High School
492. Chelmsford High School
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