American Studies tops ‘U.S. News’ schools listing

The High School of American Studies at Lehman College (HSAS) topped a list of state schools in annual rankings that “U.S. News & World Report” released last week. The school came in at 15th place in the publication’s nationwide list.

“This is a nice opportunity to be proud of ourselves for our hard work,” said Principal Alessandro Weiss. “We have very hardworking and talented students and committed teachers.”

This is the third year that American Studies has made it to the top 20 schools in the country on the competitive list. The magazine evaluates institutions based on how many students pass Advanced Placement exams, among other criteria.

Mr. Weiss was especially proud that 99 percent of former students are still attending college 18 months into their studies at college or university. 

“To me, that’s the number to pay attention to,” he said. “It means we’re not just preparing them to get admitted, but for success later on.”

Mr. Weiss added there is more to a school than rankings. 

“I think ranking schools like this is kind of silly,” Mr. Weiss said, blaming an “age where everything needs to be numbered or ranked.”

“I would never make any educational decision based on [trying to keep] this ranking,” he added.

Still, if you are looking for specific elements when picking a school for children, the “U.S. News” rankings can come in handy. It adds new factors in every other year, according to Mr. Weiss. This year, for instance, graduation rates were included in the evaluation.

He added that the ranking helps put the school on the radar of colleges that might not have heard of American Studies before — something that could help when the next group of students is sending out applications.