Academics
Parkland High School is known for its competitive academic programs. The class of 2007 boasted 15 National Merit Finalists and a mean SAT score of 1603, with 81% taking the test and 65% going to a four-year college.
Parkland is a four-time winner (1988, 1990, 2001 and 2007) of Scholastic Scrimmage, a televised academic contest during which teams from Pennsylvania high schools compete in rapid recall of factual information. Since the beginning of the competition, only Emmaus High School has won more Scholastic Scrimmage competitions.
The Parkland School District offers a vast selection of core and elective courses at college-preparatory, gifted, honors, and advanced placement levels. Additionally, the school district maintains a relationship with Lehigh County Technical Institute that allows Parkland students to pursue a more technically oriented curriculum.
In 2004 and 2006, the school's Scholastic Scrimmage team finished third in Pennsylvania's Academic Competition in Harrisburg. The team qualified for Pennsylvania's Academic Competition again in 2009, winning the CLIU regional tournament. Parkland also has a strong tradition of excellence in regional debate leagues, having won many championships, most recently in 2005 and 2006. The school also is competitive in FBLA-PBL and Science Olympiad competitions, regularly sending contingents to states. In 2001 and 2002 the school participated in the FIRST competition and in 2002 won the Virginia regional and took second in the Philadelphia regional, allowing them to send the robotics team to Epcot Center for the national championship. In 2005, the robotics team placed fourth nationally and received rookie of the year honors at the MATE Robotics Competition in Houston, TX.
Parkland's Political Science Club offers students the opportunity to participate in various Model United Nations conferences. Parkland consistently sends winning delegations to the Kutztown, Wyomissing, LVIAC, and Ivy League Model United Nations Conferences. The political science club also runs several additional events, including a Model Congress during the 2008-2009 school year.
The Parkland Debate team is generally considered the strongest in the LVIAC. Parkland frequently remains undefeated in Debate and has advanced to the LVIAC debate semifinals the last 8 consecutive years. During the 2008-2009 school year, the debate team hosted a Parliamentary debate tournament.
During the 2006-2007 school year, a group of sophomores brought the Odyssey of the Mind competition to the district. Two teams were formed, both advancing to the State competition, and one advancing to the World Finals at Michigan State University where it placed 8th in Problem 5. This team also won the prestigious Ranatra Fusca creativity award. At the 2008 Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Competition, Parkland secured 2nd place in Problem 3 and 1st place in Problem 5. In 2009, Parkland won 1st in Problem 2, 2nd in Problem 4, and 1st in Problem 5. Parkland also advanced to the 2009 World Finals where it placed 7th out of 58 teams. In 2010, Parkland again advanced to the World Finals and placed 7th, making it the only high school in the Lehigh Valley to have sent multiple teams to World Finals in the past five years.
During the 2007-2008 school year, students founded several additional clubs: the Philosophy Forum, the Magic Club, the Young Republican's Club, and the Parkland Pictures Film Club. Furthermore, students started The Trojan Horse, a humor magazine offshoot of the Parkland LitMag Club.
Graduation rate:
2010 - 97%
2009 - 97%
11th grade Reading:
2010 - 84% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 67% of 11th graders are on grade level in Reading.
2009 - 82%, State - 65%
11th grade Math:
2010 - 78% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 59% of 11th graders are on grade level in Math
2009 - 72%, State - 55%
11th grade Science:
2010 - 56% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 39% of 11th graders are on grade level in Science.
2009 - 58%, State - 40%
Read more about this topic: Parkland High School (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Famous quotes containing the word academics:
“Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with a vested interest in stressing only some of the implications and falsifying others. The idea that academics should remain “above the fray” only gives ideologues license to misuse our work.”
—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)