Superintendent Bruce Law: 'There Was No Error in Newsweek's Calculations as We Previously Thought'

Letter written by Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Superintendent Bruce Law.

Dear Hinsdale Central Parents and Guardians,

The following three points are provided at Newsweek’s request:

1. There was no error in calculation; the error was reporting matriculation as a percentage rather than as a raw number.
2. Central was not mistakenly left off the previous year’s list.
3. Newsweek did respond to our initial inquiry when the list of top 500 high schools was announced.

On September 10, I posted an open letter to Newsweek questioning why Hinsdale Central High School had not been included in that magazine’s list of top 500 high schools. On September 15, Newsweek reached out to me to show us what had happened, so I wanted to update you.

One metric that Newsweek uses in its calculations is the number of graduating high school seniors who attend college upon graduation. District 86 reported a percentage: 99.

In fact, Newsweek’s online submission form requested the number of seniors who matriculated to college, which in our case was 667 out of 673 graduates. Unfortunately, this data entry error by District 86 resulted in Central’s being left off the list; there was no error in Newsweek’s calculations as we previously thought.

There was a similar problem last year that, again, we have learned was not a problem in their calculations. Of course, we asked if Newsweek could recalculate our data so that our Hinsdale Central students, staff and community can receive the public acknowledgment of their achievements; however, that is not possible.

I regret any inconvenience advocating for Hinsdale Central has caused and appreciate the conversations I have had with Newsweek to fully understand what happened.

I do not regret, however, the fierce pride I have in our students, faculty, and staff. Anyone who knows Hinsdale Central, even from a distance, is aware of its amazing accomplishments in whatever our students and faculty take on. Those of us fortunate enough to know Hinsdale Central more deeply know how our students grow and flourish and of our faculty’s commitment to lifting students up to empower them and empowering them to pursue their postsecondary and career goals. We are all enormously proud of Hinsdale Central, both for its very public accolades and its quiet successes.

As always, I thank you for your support of Hinsdale Township High School District 86 schools and students. I look forward to having both Hinsdale Central AND South be proudly represented in Newsweek’s Top 500 listing next year.

Bruce Law, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools