More than 22,000 public high schools across the country were surveyed to find the best ones for the most recent U.S. News & World Report list of top schools, yet Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies wasn't considered.
That's because the test scores and grades of the Richmond-based school's students roll back to their home schools.
The magazine's Dec. 10 issue had four local schools -- Richmond's Open and Community high schools, and Henrico County's Deep Run and Godwin high schools -- ranked among the state's best.
Unlike other governor's or magnet schools in Virginia, however, Maggie L. Walker doesn't retain the standardized test scores and grades of its students. They go back to schools within the 12 local divisions that feed Maggie Walker.
The local school divisions pay for seats at the school. So, for example, if a student from Hanover High School attends Maggie Walker, Hanover High retains the student's grades and standardized test scores.
It's something that frustrates parents around the area.
"People always think it belongs to Richmond [Public Schools], and it does not," said Maggie Walker parent Mathis Kirby Powelson. But for that reason, "the counties and city love to get these test scores into their pile because it raises them."
Another parent, Thomas Raper, said he's fine with the scores going back to the localities but feels there also should be a way to rate the school by itself.
Maggie Walker Director Fred Morton IV said U.S. News & World Report chooses not to include his school in their annual report.
"It's unfortunate," he said, adding that there could be many other schools like Maggie Walker that get overlooked for similar reasons.
He pointed to the annual Newsweek survey, in which Maggie Walker has been included, listing the nation's top 1,500 schools.
Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.
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