From the October-November 2000 Edition 

Ranking of Fair Lawn High School   Fair Lawn High School ranked 92nd out of 309 high schools in the state according to New Jersey Monthly’s recent ranking of the top public high schools in New Jersey.    Elizabeth Panella, Principal of Fair Lawn High School, told Fair Lawn News that Fair Lawn is the only public high school in New Jersey twice recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. It won these awards because of its strong academic, athletic and social programs.    Ms. Panella noted that scores are only one indication of excellence.   Fair Lawn High School has programs and successes that far exceed other schools, including a high number of Advanced Placement courses, scholarships and students accepted to their schools of choice. Fair Lawn High School is also one of only five schools in the nation that has been recognized as a school of service learning, teaching students how to make volunteerism part of their lives.    Ms. Panella said there are no excuses for the recent drop in ranking (from #69) and that two factors are related to Fair Lawn’s position:  slightly lower scores on the 11th grade high school proficiency test and the SAT.  Ms. Panella said that a committee is evaluating various options.   Ms. Panella noted that Fair Lawn has a high percentage of students who take the SAT.  At many other schools, non-college bound kids (who tend to score lower on their SATs) are not encouraged to take the exam.  In the last school year, 85 new students entered Fair Lawn schools after 9th grade, many from out of state and out of the country. These kids still take same the tests even if they have not yet been brought up to Fair Lawn standards.   Among the standards used to determine New Jersey Monthly's ranking were 1998-99 SAT scores, 11th Grade Proficiency Test, number of students going to four- and two-year colleges, number of students taking AP exams, student awards and daily instruction time.    One other Bergen County town also dropped off of New Jersey Monthly's Top 75 list from last year.  Waldwick ranked 67 in 1999 and dropped to 155 in 2000.    The table below shows how Fair Lawn ranks above the state-wide averages on New Jersey Monthly's key ranking criteria.   Criteria Fair Lawn  State Average Math SAT  523 513 Verbal SAT 505 496 11th Grade Proficiency Test  91.1% 85.1%  Instruction Time 6 hrs, 5 minutes 5 hours 39 minutes Graduates going to 4 year college 64% Not Available Graduates going to 2 year college 25% Not Available        See New Jersey Monthly Magazine See School Facts from Fair Lawn News' Archives