Dear Medfield Families,
Last evening, the latest edition of Boston Magazine’s “Best Public High Schools in Greater Boston” was released. Like many of you, we were surprised to see Medfield High School ranked #52 – a significant drop from #31 last year, and from our frequent ranking among the top 25.
Our team double-checked the data that we submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that was used to calculate the rankings, and we discovered an error on our part. The data set we provided about college attendance rates for the Class of 2021 was incomplete, indicating only 78.5% attending college, rather than the actual figure of 89.3%. We believe that this incorrect data point skewed our ranking significantly. For additional context, our Class of 2022 is at 93.1% attending college.
I immediately contacted Jeff Riley, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, to explain the oversight. He and his team have been very supportive and are assisting us in strategizing the next steps. I have also contacted the Editor of Boston Magazine to explore possibilities for correcting the data and perhaps updating the ranking. In the short term, we have corrected the glitch that led to the data error, and we have ensured that the submission process is accurate for the Class of 2022 and beyond. I will continue to keep the community updated as the situation evolves.
We regret this error, and we want to reassure our families, staff, and community that this ranking does not reflect the exceptional quality of education provided at Medfield High School.
Sincerely,
Jeff Marsden