Student Achievement Ranking: Changes to the top three prestigious gyms, some schools have made an impressive leap

The Vilna and Klaipeda lyceums were recognized as the best gyms in the country, like last year.

For the seventh time, “Rankai” magazine presents the institutional rating of all gyms in the country.

Head of Ratings magazine The editor Gintaras Sarafinas declared that a large amount of funding does not mean quality education and he named: at the Lyceum in Vilnius, a school year costs a student more than 2,000. in the Vilnius Tuskulėnai gym – less than 1.6 thousand. At VGTU Engineering Gymnasium, just over 1.7 thousand, but, for example, in a school with only 207 seats, the same school year costs almost 5.5 thousand per student. EUR, in the school with ranking position 280 – 5.7 miles. euros

Knowledge of mathematics comes from below

Sarafin also spoke at the conference about math achievement. In recent years, the achievements of Lithuanian students in mathematics could be called tragic, but in these rankings G. Sarafinas is already happy with the achievements of some schools and the ability to duplicate their results.

However, he said, some schools could be written to the Board of Shame. In such, according to the head of the magazine. publisher, there should be some schools in Druskininkai, Kazlų Rūda, Šiauliai district, Kuršėnai and other schools. Most children do not learn mathematics in them, their achievements reach only one or two.

Incidentally, he added that naming schools on the “board of shame” is not bad practice. On the contrary, he stated that grades are also done abroad and that, according to him, schools at the bottom of the grade receive very greasy epithets, such as “this school leads students to failure.”

Mr. Sarafin spoke about the still inefficient educational system, referring also to other figures: the ratio of teachers to students at the school. There are schools where 12 teachers teach 22 students, 19 to 35 students. This, according to the editor, is completely inefficient and therefore a waste of money.

“The schools know their pros and cons, but some remain meaningless, like the Rakoniai base. The school has 11 teachers who teach 25 students. Such public schools are, in fact, personal. Fantasy. So with the help of those sections you can see everything, but in Lithuania we really have many prominent schools. Only when you walk in the door do you see that the school is prospering. M. Biržiška Gymnasium, Panevėžys Juozas Balčikonis Gymnasium, Šiauliai Julius Janonis are wonderful schools. Other schools need to find what makes them exceptional. “

Seraphin said a bullying rating was also submitted. Small schools stood out more, as it was clearly easier for them to control bullying. Schools with good weather were also presented.

“Therefore, when choosing a school, it is very important to gather as much information as possible: academic achievement, weather, bullying,” he said.

He also emphasized that outsiders at the school remain the same each year.

Gym evaluation.

In evaluating gyms, the magazine separated students from selected schools from schools that accept all students.

Currently, 12 gyms in the country, excluding specialized schools such as the arts, have the right to select students based on academic indicators.

The best schools to choose students this year are:

1. Lyceum of Vilnius (last year was the first),
2. KTU gymnasium (last year was the second),
3. Vilnius M. Biržiška Gymnasium (last year was fourth).

According to the compilers of the rating, the Vilnius M. Biržiška Gymnasium rise is the highest place so far and in recent years this gym has been constantly increasing. It is also argued that if these schools are compared to all schools, including non-selective schools, the trio would hold the same positions. According to the evaluators, other selective gyms do not necessarily outperform schools that teach all students.

However, the Vilna Jesuit gym experienced the biggest drop among the selected schools. She fell to the lowest in history: fifth place.

The best schools that don’t select students:

A total of 356 gyms that do not make student selections were evaluated.

1. Liceo Klaipeda (last year was the first),
2. Vilnius “Saulė” private gym (last year there were 18),
3. Panevėžys J. Balčikonis Gymnasium (last year it was the 4th),
4. Šiauliai J. Janonis Gymnasium (last year it was in fifth place),
5. Kaunas Gym “Saulė” (last year I was in second place),
6. Vilnius North Aleichem Gymnasium (last year ranked 27th),
7. Vilnius Gabija Gym (last year it was in 3rd place),
8. Modern School Center (Vilnius) (last year it was 34th),
9. Vilnius S. Daukantas Gymnasium (last year it was in sixth place),
10. Alytus A. Ramanauskas – Gym Vanagas (last year it was 48th)

Gyms, like every year, were ranked after estimating all of 2019. Program graduates who completed a specific gym for each state maturity exam, ie: Lithuanian language and literature scores, history, English, information technology , physics, chemistry, biology, geography.

The gym with the highest score for a particular exam received the highest score, ie 8 points. The school with the lowest rating received 0 points.

In addition, according to data from the National Education Agency, the number of twelfths that passed a specific maturity test was evaluated at one hundred (1 point), two by two (2 points), three by three points, four by four points and five by five. (5 points). Those gyms whose 2019 graduates of the show did not receive a hundred, scored 0 points.

Based on data from the General Admission Organization of Lithuanian Institutions of Higher Education (LAMA BPO), it was evaluated how many graduates from each gym entered state-funded study places of Lithuanian higher education institutions ( weight 8 points).

In addition, according to the information provided by the gyms, the number of students who went to study at foreign universities was also taken into account. The school with the highest participation in 2019. Graduates of the program went to study at foreign universities and received 3 points.

In addition, the student drop-out rate was also assessed with a weight of 2 points: from the gyms admitted to the gym’s third (11th grade) class, they graduated in 2019. In some gyms, there has been a clear drop-out rate. desertion in the last two years.

For the first time, next to the gym in the ranking of places, and the financial indicator

Rating compilers also emphasized that, for the first time, in addition to the gym location, the financial rating includes a financial indicator: how much money is allocated for the maintenance of a student at each specific school. At the same time, he mentioned that this criterion was not evaluated and that the price of a student’s education was presented only to the readers of “Grades”, so that parents could see for themselves if school is difficult to teach the students. reasons.

Rankai magazine recalled that schools are financed mainly from the state budget, and the second source of financing for schools is the so-called environmental funds. They are assigned to schools by municipalities. It is true that private schools, with the exception of Catholic schools, do not receive so-called “environmental funds”. But private schools are still funded by the parents of the students themselves. Studying in a private school costs from 5 to more than 1,500 euros per month. The funds paid by parents for the education of their children are not reflected in the table.

The authors have pointed out the paradox that in schools that have really generous funds, student achievement is really low, and those that are financially disadvantaged often provide really high added value for students. They gave an example that the total cost per student at the Valčiūnai gym in the Vilnius district is up to 4546 euros per year, but it has been at the bottom of the ranking for seven years (342 place this year), and in the Vilnius Gabija’s gym costs only 1,632 euros per year, but has never retired from the top fifteen gyms.

Therefore, in the opinion of the evaluators, in fact, funding does not necessarily affect student achievement, in Lithuania everything is the other way around.

In addition, Reitingai magazine presented a study by the Council of the Lithuanian Gym Association, which showed that schools that analyze grades and distance themselves from foreigners are constantly increasing both in terms of academic performance and the well-being of their students. And, they say, it’s not just about financing.

Jonas Jatautas, one of the members of the Board of this Association, the director of the Tauragė Žalgiriai Gymnasium, together with his colleagues formed gyms, which are graduated by at least 20 students each year. consistently in the ratings compiled by “Ratings” magazine. And, according to the evaluators, it turns out that it is not an elite metropolitan school.

These are the district and small town schools: Kaišiadorys district Rumšiškės Antanas Baranauskas gymnasium, Naujoji Akmenė Ramučiai gymnasium, Širvintos Laurynas Stuokas – Gucevičius gymnasium, Raseiniai district Ariogala gymnasium, Seuridijos Žvaririanas gymnasium, Seuridijos Žvaririai gymnasium Atgimimo de Visaginas, Klaipėda Žemynas gym, etc.

“In the past, many of her children ran to schools in nearby cities, but today the situation is the opposite,” the press release said.

Assessment of primary schools and progymnasiums.

For the sixth time, Rankings magazine also presents an assessment of the vast majority of schools in the country that have participated in a national test of student achievement (formerly known as standardized tests). In addition, there is a dropout rate, that is, how many students entered first grade and how many completed fourth grade, or how many entered fifth grade and how many completed eighth grade.

According to the achievements of the fourth grade students:

1. Lyceum of the north
2. Kaunas Tirkiliškės school – kindergarten
3. Panevėžys A. Lipniūnas Progymnasium

And according to the achievements of the Sixth, the first three were organized as follows:

1. KTU Vaižgantas Progymnasium
2. Klaipeda “Universa Via” international class
3. Kaunas St. Casimiro Progymnasium

These tests, according to the authors, show the contribution of primary schools and progymnasiums to children’s academic success and dropouts: children’s well-being and school climate (in the classroom).

Evaluation of basic schools.

For the fourth time, the evaluation of basic schools is also presented, which is based on the results of the Basic Education Achievement Test (PUPP) considered by tenth grade students.

There are a total of 250 basic schools in Lithuania, although the authors note that their size varies. Therefore, when evaluating the basic schools, they were divided according to the number of students.

The strongest basic school in the 1-9 category (tenth grade students) is in the Akmenė district. Kruopiai’s main class.

The strongest basic school, where up to 20 tenth graders study, is located in the Anykščiai district. Kavarskas class m main.

The strongest basic school, where they study more than 21 tenths, is the “Rytas” basic school in Plungė.

And among the main national minority schools, the Vilnius district is the strongest. Kyviškiai Basic School.