The well-known and trusted school review site Niche recently came out with their 2015 school rankings for each state and the nation as a whole. CHS placed as the 82nd best in the country and first in the state of Missouri. On the other hand, in the latest US News rankings, Metro Academic and Classical High School, a magnet school in the St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) District, took the first place while Clayton stood second. In the Niche report, Metro was 705th in the nation and placed 10th in state.

This close call was not surprising. For years, Metro and Clayton have traded spots as the best high schools in the state and the majority of test scores also reflect the same propinquity of academic rigor.

According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), CHS had a composite ACT score of 25.7 and Metro had a composite score of 25.1. These numbers both show the schools’ high standards in comparison to the country as a whole, which had the lower score of 21.

CHS and Metro seem exactly the same. Great public schools, in the St. Louis Area, making national rankings, and more. That is not the most credible statement.

CHS and Metro are in completely different situations.

Metro is part of a special track in the SLPS District. Although it is a public school district, magnet schools are included, Metro being one of these. A magnet school is a specialized school in a public school district, usually being academically selective. Lisa Brougham, the Metro high school counselor, said “Metro requires that applicants score proficient or advanced on the MAP test in 7th grade, earn no grade lower than a C and have a recommendation letter from the principal and an educator.” In SLPS, Metro is an option which most gifted kids apply to after going to the magnet middle schools in the district.  Not only are they selective academically, but the chances of attending metro is by chance.

“Then the names of all eligible students are submitted to a lottery process, with a waiting list created of those not initially selected.” Brougham said. In Metro’s case, all students have to undergo this application process, therefore, the school as a whole is considered “all-gifted.”

Like all schools, including Clayton, Metro’s rigor compared to the rigor of the magnet middle schools in SLPS is a big jump. Yet, one of the reasons many people are attracted to the school is not only for its academic success but also its International Baccalaureate program.

Compared to AP classes at Clayton, this IB program has special classes which in the end award the student in the program an IB diploma. This diploma enables a student to skip a year in college. Metro is one out of two schools in Missouri to have this program; the other school is Lindbergh High School.

The problem with the IB program and the magnet school setting concerns funding, something which is not a problem for CHS and actually helps CHS be the great school is it known to be.

Metro does not qualify for Title I or Perkins funding and the money the school does receive goes mostly to the IB program, leaving little money for resources and extracurricular support.

Brougham said, “Because much of the funding for Metro goes to support the IB program, we have very limited funding for technology. When I started here we had 1 Smart Board, and one computer lab and computers in the library that were very old. We’ve since received 4 more Smart Boards, and newer computers in the library. My understanding of the funding in Clayton versus SLPS/Metro is that a greater portion of the property taxes paid go to education in Clayton.”

From DESE reports, it states that 95.54 percent of Clayton local taxes goes to education whereas in SLPS, only 62.75 percent goes to over 70 schools in the district.

Through the great amount of funding each student at Clayton receives, the students are more exposed to greater opportunities and resources, possibly resulting in a “better school ranking.”

Kate Cooper, a freshman at CHS, went to McKinley Classical Junior Academy, one of the magnet middle schools in the SLPS district. She originally intended on going to Metro for her high school but then made the switch to the Clayton school district.

“I think that Clayton definitely has more programs that are non-academic,” Cooper said, concerning Metro’s limited funding. She did add that Metro’s attractive IB program in some aspects outweighs the possibility of these extracurriculars.

Isabelle Appleton, a senior at Metro, talked about these appealing aspects of the IB program, specifically the resulting diploma. “This diploma can act as credits towards college, which is a very attractive concept for many Metro students because it could mean starting college as a sophomore rather than a freshman, and thus only paying for three years of college rather than four,” Appleton said.

Aside from the funding situations, it is the difference between Metro and Clayton’s dropout rates which really has shocked people in the St. Louis Area.

Yet, it is Metro’s policy which creates this high dropout rate, and it is also this policy which helps Metro remain they great school it is despite the evident lack of funding.

Appleton noted that about 50% of her class has dropped out because of failing more than two courses in one year. This is part of the magnet school policy.

“In order for a student to retain his or her seat at Metro, he or she may not fail more than two semester courses in one academic year. That is stated in our student handbook, as well as the requirement that the student MUST recover the credit over the summer in order to return to Metro the subsequent school year,” Brougham said.

In the end, it is evident that both Clayton and Metro have many differences, including perks and disadvantages. Although the scores may seem similar, these two cannot be compared to find who is really best. The bottom line? Actually, there is no line. No defining line between Clayton and Metro can be drawn; no defining line should be drawn.