Ranking Your School and Marching for Your Pool

How do Rockville high schools measure up?

 is No. 65 in the nation,  is No. 103,  is No. 265 and  is No. 898 in this year's High School Challenge Index rankings compiled by The Washington Post.

Since 1998, Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews has used the index to rank Washington-area public high schools by how effectively they prepare students for college.

The formula: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gives each year (in this case, in the year 2010) by the number of graduating seniors that year.

The index is not a measure of the overall quality of the school it can be used to compare how far schools are going toward preparing students for college.

Among Washington metropolitan area schools, Richard Montgomery (No. 3) and Wootton (No. 11) ranked in the top 20.

To see the national list, click here.

To see the Washington metropolitan area list, click here.

The county school system weighs in here.

It’s the “the in me” edition of “The Rundown”:

• In , Joseph Hawkins, a senior study director at Westat and former numbers guy for Montgomery County Public Schools, writes that while the Post report states that low-performing students who got a 2 on an AP test do better in college than those who do not take AP tests, data from the College Board and MCPS suggests that is not necessarily the case among county students, especially ethnic and racial minorities.
• The County Council holds a final vote on the fiscal 2012 operating budget tomorrow. The budget includes the return of the “Kids Ride Free” program, which will allow students during the 2011-2012 school year to ride county Ride On buses and Metrobuses for free from 2 to 7 p.m. on weekdays. The program had been suspended for the current school year.
• The county will mark Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a free program including panel discussions in the Executive Office Building’s lobby level auditorium on Thursday. 
  The program, “Asian Americans in the Capital Region: Heritage in the Making,” is co-sponsored by the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships and the Asian American Advisory Group. It begins at 3 p.m. with opening remarks from County Executive Isiah Leggett and a proclamation from the Maryland General Assembly presented by Sen. Robert J. Garigiola (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown. 
  The Rev. Tim Warner, faith liaison in the County’s Office of Community Partnerships will lead a panel discussion of “Churches, Mosques and Temples:  Faith-based Approaches to Social Services in the Asian American Community” at 3:30 p.m. State delegates Susan Lee (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda, Sam Arora (D-Dist. 19) of Silver Spring and Aruna Miller (D-Dist. 15) of Darnestown will participate in “A Conversation with Asian American Policymakers:  Perspectives on Community Engagement in a Global Economy” at 5:15 p.m.
  For more information, contact Lily Qi, Asian and Middle Eastern liaison in the county’s Office of Community Partnerships at 240-777-2524 or lily.qi@montgomerycountymd.gov.
• Cindy Murphy-Tofig writes about . The Humane Society is also introducing a new pre-adoption program to spay or neuter all animals adopted from .
• Do you love a parade? Ever wanted to be in one? If so, here’s your chance: is looking for fans of the center to march in the city’s 67th Memorial Day Parade on Monday.
  The center will be highlighting its pools, its swim team and its new fitness facilities. Marchers are encouraged to “dress crazy and fun, in aquatic or fitness gear,” Mark Eldridge, the center’s superintendent wrote in the center’s recent email newsletter. Inflatable rings with animal heads, floatation noodles, bathing suits and goggles worn over crazy clothes are encouraged. There will be awards for craziest costume in the Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club’s team colors, best use of swim gear (fins, kickboards, pull buoys, noodles), best bathing-suit-over-clothes outfit, and more.
  Costumes are not required and parents, friends and siblings of all ages are invited to join the parade.
  To sign up and for more information email Swim Center Advisory Committee member Suzanne Sutton at Suzanne224@aol.com.
• If you missed the first day for , the market returns on Saturday for its first weekend offerings at on Pleasant Drive.
• We end the same way every time. (With a plea for friends.) Follow us on  Twitter @RockvillePatch, become our "friend" at Rockville Patch on Facebook.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Richard Montgomery High School's rank on the High School Challenge Index among schools in the Washington metropolitan area. Richard Montgomery ranked No. 3. The third paragraph has been corrected.