slides: Portland Metro’s Top High Schools

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Shelby Sebens, GoLocalPDX Reporter

Lincoln High School

Lincoln High School ranked third for top high schools in the Portland Metro area.

GoLocalPDX has crunched the numbers and the test results are in – Lake Oswego Senior High School makes the grade as Portland metro’s top high school for 2014.

Slideshow Below: Portland Metro's Top High Schools

GoLocal employs a formula developed at Babson College to assess and weight each school's latest SAT scores, plus per-pupil funding, student-teacher ratios, and graduation rates. All data is the latest available from the Oregon Department of Education’s public database as of August 2014.

Success stories

What makes a top high school?

Peyton Chapman, principal at Lincoln High School, which ranked fourth, said school success depends on support and resources.

“There are multiple factors,” she said. “I think one of the most important is the quality of teachers and we have an excellent faculty and certainly very involved families who not only have the commitment to education, but also have the time and resources to be supportive of the students.”

Chapman added that Lincoln encourages the students to chase their ambitions.

“It’s really cool, the culture,” she said. “It’s very cool to be smart and follow your passions at Lincoln.”

Piquing their interest

From math club to drumline to sports, students get the chance to learn based on their interests, Chapman said.

For example, students expressed interest in capitalizing on Portland’s foodie vibe so the school created a culinary arts program. Now 300 students are working with local chefs, creating business plans for food carts and blogging about food.

When comparing schools statewide, South Eugene High School and Ashland High School ranked high on the list. Ashland came in ninth and South Eugene was second.

“I really do believe that it’s a kindergarten through 12th-grade effort,” Ashland Principal Michelle Zundel said. “It is an incredible testimony to the hard work of our students. We also have extraordinary teachers who are really on the top of their game.”

Lou Bailey, principal of West Linn High School, which ranked seventh, said the school consistently ranks high for graduation rates.

“That just goes back to a lot of hard work from folks here in the building," he said.

Making the grade

While some schools did not have SAT scores available and therefore were not ranked, they did well in meeting state benchmarks.

Milwaukie Academy of the Arts, for example, ranked high for meeting or exceeding state standards and had a graduation rate of 93 percent.

Mark Pinder, principal of Milwaukie Academy of the Arts, attributes the school’s success to looking at areas that need improvement and taking steps to get better.

“What we’ve had to do is adjust how we are teaching,” he said. “Every kid is different who comes to us, so we have to look at what is the support they need.”

Pinder said the school opened a food pantry to get food to students during the school day. The Oregon Food Bank also runs a vegetable and fruit giveaway once a month. About 40 percent of the students are economically disadvantaged, according to the 2012-13 Oregon Report Card.

Pinder said rankings are important, but cautioned that it makes more sense to compare schools that have similar demographics.

He said Milwaukie’s graduate rate for Hispanics increased last year to 74 percent, surpassing the white graduation rate at 71 percent.

Pinder said a high ranking when compared to other high schools is just one way to show the school is doing well.

“I think it’s important for us to say, ‘Hey this validates the work that we’ve been doing,” Pinder said. “I think an improvement also validates the work that you’re doing.”

Bailey said that while West Linn is pleased with its success, it's not resting on its laurels.

“There’s room for improvement. We don’t ever just sit by," he said. "We’re going to continue getting better."

Related Slideshow: Slideshow: Top Portland Metro High Schools

GoLocalPDX has ranked the top high schools in the metro area using a method developed in Babson College, Mass. High schools were ranked based on complete data available.

slides: Portland Metro’s Top High Schools

Slideshow Below: Portland Metro's Top High Schools

Success stories

Piquing their interest

Making the grade

Related Slideshow: Slideshow: Top Portland Metro High Schools

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