Paly Principal Jacqueline McEvoy wants to increase student participation in AP testing at Paly after learning about U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 public high school rankings issued on Dec. 4.

In the 2008 rankings, Paly lost its status as a “Gold Medal” school, dropping from the list of top 100 public high schools in the nation.

McEvoy says that a large number of students at Paly do not participate in the standardized tests considered by the report, and as a result these students are not adequately represented.

“I don’t think [the ranking] accurately represents Paly,” McEvoy said. “There aren’t enough students participating in the tests that the rankings consider.”

According to US News & World Report, the rankings were determined by a three-step process. First, the report compared the results of each school’s performance on state standardized tests. After passing this step, each school was evaluated based on the performance of its least-advantaged students on the same state standardized test in terms of math and reading proficiency rates.

Finally, each school that passed these two steps was evaluated by its “college readiness index” to receive a spot on the Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal high school ranking lists. The college readiness index is based on the number of students that participate in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests, and the number of students that receive AP scores of three or above.

McEvoy says that in order to achieve an accurate view of Paly’s academic ability, students are obligated to participate in relevant standardized tests. Currently, about 25 percent of Paly students enrolled in AP classes do not take the AP test after completing the course, according to McEvoy.

“Without a high participation rate [in standardized tests], you can’t get an accurate view of a school,” McEvoy said. “This is problematic because we don’t have a good measure. I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t get AP credit unless you take the exam.”

Another one of McEvoy’s primary concerns is the comparison between the rankings of Paly and Gunn. According to the report, Gunn dropped from its 2007 ranking of 66, and currently ranks 74th.

“I think students at Paly are just as academically capable as Gunn students, so I think we should be pretty close in rankings,” McEvoy said.

To close the difference in test performance between Paly and Gunn, McEvoy plans to compare the AP test curriculum and instruction of both schools.

“We need to move up,” McEvoy said. “We need to look at how many AP tests Gunn’s taking and what they are.”

McEvoy plans to better align the AP courses at Paly with their respective AP tests.

“We need to look at the skill set needed for taking each AP test and how to get students to have these skill sets,” McEvoy said.

Overall, McEvoy views the ranking as a positive evaluation of Paly.

“I’m very proud of our students at Paly,” McEvoy said. “This [report] is another way schools are recognized, but being on the Silver Medal list also recognizes what students do here.”