New Milford Falls In NJ Monthly High School Rankings

fell eight spots in the latest NJ Monthly Magazine rankings of the state's ranking of high schools.

NMHS checked in as the state's 161st best school in 2010 and two years later finds itself at #169 on the just-released biennial ranking of 328 public high schools in the state. In 2008, the school ranked #99 in the state on the list.

NJ Monthly Magazine’s 2012 rankings of the top public high schools will be featured in the September issue, which hits newsstands on Aug. 28. Parochial schools are not included, though charter schools make the list.

NJ Monthly Magazine made changes to its methodology this year, including a new graduation-rate calculation, eliminating student/computer ratio as a factor and increasing the weighting for data on test results, according to an article announcing the top public high schools.

In the  issued in May rating the performance of every school in the state during the 2010-11, students at  generally had a greater percentage of proficient scores than their peers in the state and the District Factor Group (DFG) — which measures schools from socio-economically similar areas — on both the language arts and math sections of the HSPA test.

The high school also far surpassed the state average in Grades 11 and 12 participation in Advanced Placement programs. NMHS averaged 47.7 percent while the state average is 39.9 percent. However, the school did see a slight drop in the average SAT score which the administration said it is addressing by implementing new reading and math programs beginning in Kindergarten so that by the time students reach high school they will be accomplished readers and writers. 

Superintendent Michael Polizzi said, "To raise the reading and writing scores on the SAT's we have to create great readers and writers beginning in Kindergarten so by the time they take the SAT's they have the skills to perform well."

Regarding math, Polizzi said, "The goal is to have students taking algebra in the eighth grade."  

"Taking algebra in the eighth grade will prepare students to be in pre-calculus or calculus by their junior year in high school, which will positively impact their SAT math scores," he added.

Polizzi told Patch that since his arrival he has been untangling years of neglect in both the educational programming and the infrastructure of the school district. He said that upon his arrival three years ago, he inherited a fractured school district emerging from a decade of administrative instability —five superintendents in ten years.

Here are the rankings of area high schools:

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