Two area high schools are named 'Best Buy' schools

Carroll Jr.-Sr. High School and Rossville Senior High School have been named 2008 "Best Buy" high schools by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

The Best Buy designation signifies which schools offer the highest educational achievement levels for the lowest amount of tax dollars.

The Indiana Chamber examined 349 Indiana public high schools and charter schools with the appropriate available data. Using ISTEP+ pass rates, ISTEP+ Pass+ rates, graduation rates, SAT participation rates and average composite scores, and Advanced Placement (AP) passing scores, the Chamber developed a total school performance index for each school.

This index, called the school's quality index, was then compared to each school's total revenues per pupil to determine Best Buy schools. From that list, "honor roll" schools were selected based on each school's at-risk student/poverty rate, as measured by participation in the federal free/reduced lunch program.

For 2008, 132 public high schools were designated as a best buy for giving taxpayers the most value for their money.

Two methods determined this honor. A school was named a best buy if it had a quality index above the state median and revenues below the statewide median of $9,313 per student. The second method was by having a quality index ranking that was 20% higher than the school's revenues.

In addition, from the best buy group, 23 high schools were given the "honor roll" distinction for excelling academically despite having atrisk student demographics above the statewide median. For their exemplary efforts, the top five schools from the best buy and honor roll lists were then selected as "head of the class" members.

The 2008 "head of the class" selections are: Batesville High School, Ripley County; Castle High School, Warrick County; Center Grove High School, Johnson County; Hamilton Southeastern High School, Hamilton County; Hauser Jr.- Sr. High School, Bartholomew County; Monroe Central Jr.-Sr. High School; Randolph County; North Central High School, Marion County; North Harrison High School, Harrison County; Rushville Consolidated High School, Rush County, and Signature School, Vanderburgh County.

All data used in the Best Buys report was collected from Indiana Department of Education databases.

"While preferably the report would focus on expenditures, which districts can control, rather than revenues that are determined largely by the Indiana General Assembly, this will provide a more accurate and consistent benchmark than the available expenditure data," Brinegar noted.

This latest edition of Indiana's Best Buys continues to include a broad range of school performance data and an emphasis on high school graduation rates for the calculation of each school's quality index. The AP measures and ISTEP+ Pass+ rates are an attempt to give schools additional recognition for their attention to higher performing students.

To view the report and learn which high schools are among Indiana's Best Buys, visit www.indianachamber.com/bes tbuys.