Manhattan Schools with 4-year Grad Rates of 70 Percent or Higher

These statistics are meant to accompany the book Pick Twelve: A Guide to Public High School Admissions in New York City, available in August 2012.  Schools are categorized according to admissions type.  School listings for Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens will follow shortly.

Manhattan High Schools with 4-Year Graduation Rates 70 Percent or Higher, 2007 Cohorts (2011 Outcomes)

*Based on “Public School Total Cohort Graduation Rate and Enrollment Outcome Summary, 2010-11 School Year” from the New York State Department of Education

Specialized

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School – 97 percent

High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College – 92.8 percent

Stuyvesant High School – 97.1 percent

Screened or Audition

A. Philip Randolph Campus High School – 80.8 percent

The American Sign Language and English School – 69.6 percent

Art and Design High School – 72.8 percent

Bard High School Early College – 96.1 percent

Baruch College Campus High School – 99.1 percent

Beacon High School – 97.5 percent

Central Park East High School – 77.8 percent

Eleanor Roosevelt High School – 100 percent

Frederick Douglass Academy – 89.2 percent

Gramercy Arts High School – 73.6 percent

High School for Environmental Studies – 80.1 percent

High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies – 92.2 percent

The High School of Fashion Industries – 84.2 percent

Humanities Preparatory Academy – 82.5 percent

Institute for Collaborative Education – 79.6 percent

Manhattan Bridges High School – 69 percent

Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics – 88.7 percent

Manhattan Village Academy – 96.7 percent

Manhattan Hunter Science High School – 86.6 percent

Millennium High School – 91.8 percent

New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math – 95.3 percent

NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies – 90.5 percent

NYC Museum School – 95.9 percent

Park East High School – 71.4 percent

Professional Performing Arts High School – 89.1 percent

Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts – 80 percent

Talent Unlimited High School – 91.9 percent

Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change – 74 percent

Young Women’s Leadership School – 98.4 percent

Educational Option

A. Philip Randolph Campus High School – 80.8 percent

High School for Environmental Studies – 80.1 percent

High School for Health Professions and Human Services – 79.1 percent

High School for Law, Advocacy, and Community Justice – 69.6 percent

High School for Law and Public Service – 71.8 percent

High School of Arts and Technology – 71.1 percent

High School of Economics and Finance – 79.8 percent

Leadership and Public Service High School – 70.2 percent

Life Sciences Secondary School – 72.6 percent

New Design High School – 70.8 percent

Limited Unscreened

Academy for Social Action – 79.2 percent

Food and Finance High School – 76.7 percent

High School of Hospitality Management – 72.6 percent

Lower Manhattan Arts Academy – 73 percent

Mott Hall High School – 66.7 percent (72 percent August)

New York Harbor School – 72.3 percent

Pace High School – 91.5 percent

Urban Assembly School for Media Studies – 71.6 percent

Charter

New Heights Academy Charter School – 73.6 percent

Reading Comprehension Exercise 3

Below, I anticipate, will be the most forwarded and utilized reading passage I will ever compose.  As always, I will remind readers that these passages should not be viewed as authoritative informational pieces.  I am not a dentist, although I am one of the world’s top-ranking authorities on toothpaste flavors.

 
Reading Comprehension Exercise 3

If you are like most people, your parents have hounded you from an early age to brush your teeth with regularity.  Have you ever found this annoying?  You shouldn’t.  Few children understand the importance of proper dental hygiene and the horrors that diligent brushing and flossing can help them avoid later in life.  Few children have any notion of the consequences of poor dental care, and it makes sense that they don’t.  When children lose their teeth starting around age six, they are replaced!  Nature gives children the false impression that they will possess an infinite supply of teeth during their lifetimes.  But they don’t.  Nature is not trying to trick anyone by replacing baby teeth, known as deciduous teeth, with adult teeth, known as permanent teeth; on the contrary, nature is only keeping up with the size of the human mouth as it grows.  Not to mention, a toddler with adult-size teeth would be terrifying.  Picture that!  That would be scary!

For children who aren’t convinced that brushing and flossing their teeth multiple times per day is impossibly wise, they should consider some dental procures that might be in store for them when they are older.  One of the most common problems people encounter with their teeth are cavities, which involve the wearing away of a tooth’s enamel and dentin, which can eventually compromise the rest of the underlying tooth structure.  If caught early enough, at the first signs of demineralization of the tooth’s enamel, remineralization might be possible and the integrity of the tooth restored.  Once a cavity has been formed, however, other treatments become necessary.  One possible procedure is to have the decayed areas of the tooth removed and replaced with a filling, which can be composed of anything from an amalgam to a composite resin to gold.  This procedure is usually unpleasant to experience, as the tooth and nerves are still “alive.”  Patients undergoing the procedure must endure one or more shots of anesthetic, delivered into the gums surrounding the tooth by a huge needle, but can often (believe me!) still feel the dentist’s drill as it attacks the decayed areas of the tooth.  Fillings are not always successful, however, and after a number of years might need replacing.  The monetary cost of this procedure varies, depending on the size of the cavity and the type of filling used.

If a cavity has formed and the pulp of the tooth has died, root canal therapy might be necessary.  What is a root canal?  It is the removal of the decayed areas of the tooth along with all the connected nerves and tissues.  During the procedure, the patient will experience a dentist inserting tiny files into the canal (which used to house living tissue) to clean them.  After filing (which the patient does not feel, as the tooth is “dead” – all nerves in the tooth being gone), a crown is set atop the remaining tooth structure.   Having a root canal performed and a crown set can be quite expensive, often costing over $2,000.  If there are problems (if the crown’s seal is not perfectly tight or becomes loose with time, for example), a second root canal might need to be performed on the same tooth and a second crown ordered and placed over the tooth.  Some patients (trust me) have even experienced three root canal procedures on the same tooth, transforming the tooth into the financial equivalent of purchasing a precious gemstone or diamond.

Sometimes, however, not even root canal therapy is effective in restoring a damaged tooth, and all avenues for saving the tooth have been exhausted.  The only remaining option is to have the tooth extracted.  If such a tooth is not removed, the root of the tooth can become infected, resulting in what is called an abscess.  With an abscess, pus collects in the root of the tooth, overflowing into the jaw bone and gum tissue surrounding the tooth, which is not only painful to experience but can lead to other serious problems, such as bone loss which can undermine the integrity of surrounding teeth.  (It’s pretty disgusting when you think about it.  It’s like having a pimple the size of Mount Everest in your mouth.  In the bone of your mouth!)  If left untreated, the patient will lose the tooth anyway, but is endangering nearby teeth as well.  Depending on the tooth, during extraction the patient might experience a dental assistant holding his or her head down forcefully while the dentist or oral surgeon pulls on the tooth in the opposite direction, also forcefully.  In some instances, an oral surgeon is required to slice open the gums to grant better access to the tooth for pulling.  Most patients bleed (substantially) for a significant period of time following the procedure, during which a blood clot forms to shield the jaw bone from direct contact with air.  If the blood clot does not form properly or comes out too early, what results is a dry socket, which is exposed bone tissue where the tooth formerly resided.  The simplest way to describe a dry socket is to have the reader imagine pain in its purest form.

After an extraction, provided that the bone area beneath the extracted tooth will support it, the patient may elect to have an implant installed.  A dental implant involves having a surgeon drill into the jaw bone, placing a titanium post  there (the post is essentially a screw, screwed into bone).  Usually, the bone accepts the post and fuses with it, but sometimes not.  One of the most challenging areas for an oral surgeon to place an implant is the back upper jaw areas, where the surgeon must take into account the patient’s sinus configuration.  But is describing this really necessary?  Go brush your teeth.  And floss.  And wear a mouthpiece while playing sports.  And have your teeth cleaned professionally every six months.  And run from sugar, because to your teeth, sugar = Satan.

Or don’t.  In which case, enjoy lots of trips to the dentist later on!

 

1.  An appropriate title for this passage would be:

A.  Dry Socket:  A Lifetime of Pain Experienced Over Five Days

B.  The Physical, Emotional, and Monetary Cost of Poor Dental Hygiene

C.  How to Fix a Tooth at Home

D.  Cosmetic Dentistry Explained

E.  How Deciduous Teeth Differ from Permanent Teeth

 

2.  According to the passage, extraction of a damaged tooth can sometimes be avoided if:

A.  Root canal therapy is performed on the tooth

B.  Decayed areas of the tooth are removed and filled with composite resin

C.  A dental implant is installed

D.  Both A and C

E.  Both A and B

 

3.  Which of the following could qualify as the main message of the passage:

A.  Cosmetic dentistry is the most important type

B.  Children are inherently aware of their dental needs

C.  Brushing and flossing could save a person significant trouble and expense

D.  Dental procedures are available and affordable

E.  Manual toothbrushes are not as good as a Sonicare

 

4.  Which of the following best describes the intent of the passage:

A.  To narrate

B.  To persuade

C.  To explain

D.  To compare

E.  To describe

 

5.  In the second paragraph, the word “compromise” means:

A.  An agreement reached by two or more parties involving concessions from each party

B.  An honest and principled stand

C.  Weakened

D.  Fortified

E.  Configured

 

6.  In the fourth paragraph, the word “integrity” means:

A.  Honesty

B.  Principled

C.  Morally upright

D.  Soundness

E.  Principaled

 

7.  According to the passage, most dental problems occur:

A.  Early in life

B.  As a result of abscesses

C.  After childhood

D.  After one visits the dentist

E.  When a root canal is performed

 

8.  According to the passage, the best reason to take care of one’s teeth is that:

A.  Dental work is expensive

B.  Dry sockets happen to everyone

C.  Dentists are sadistic

D.  Dental work can be painful and unpleasant

E.  Permanent teeth are more numerous and stronger than deciduous teeth

 

9.  An abscess occurs when:

A.  Sinus drainage damages a tooth

B.  A tooth’s enamel becomes worn

C.  A tooth’s root becomes infected

D.  Deciduous teeth are replaced by permanent teeth

E.  A crown is placed over a tooth

 

10.   A tooth after a root canal has no feeling because:

A.  The anesthetic permanently numbs the nerves

B.  The nerves and tissues are removed

C.  The crown shields the tooth from hot and cold

D.  Bone has no feeling

E.  The tooth is fake

 

11.   Why did the animals eat the pineapple?

A.  They were hungry

B.  They wanted to

C.  They were annoyed

D.  They were amused

E.  Pearson made them

Reading Comprehension Exercise 2

Again, let me state that the passages posted here are intended as reading comprehension exercises, and should *not* be read as authoritative informational pieces.  I make an attempt to keep my facts straight, but do not assume they are. 

Reading Comprehension Exercise 2

                Developments in technology, specifically the appearance of electronic reading devices, have drastically altered reading habits in the United States in the last few years.  Sony quickly established itself as a leader in the e-reader market with its introduction of the Sony Reader in 2006, followed by an updated version in 2007.  Amazon quickly followed suit the same year with the introduction of its Kindle device, which proved popular enough among book consumers that it reportedly sold out in less than six hours and remained out of stock until well into 2008.  Such products still remained something of a novelty among the reading public, however, due to their relatively limited availability and their prohibitive price points.  In 2007 the price of the Sony Reader approached $300 and the Kindle $400.  Many consumers also continued to balk at the idea of abandoning traditional books, wondering how an electronic device could ever serve as a satisfying alternative to holding and turning actual pages. 

                By 2011, electronic reading devices had achieved a degree of popular acceptance that few in 2007 might have imagined.  In addition to the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle, a slew of other devices appeared on the market, including the Barnes and Noble Nook, as well as devices from Kobo Books, iRiver, Bookeen, and Aluratek.  Advanced features such as Wi-Fi connectivity, touch screens, smaller sizes, and price drops to under $100 for the Kindle, Nook, and Sony devices helped boost consumer interest to unprecedented levels.  Apple’s multifunction iPad and the introduction of color devices such as the Nook Color and Kindle Fire also spurred consumer interest and acceptance. 

                The progressive shift toward electronic book distribution carries multiple benefits to consumers and society in general.  For consumers, purchasing books has never been easier.  Devices boasting Wi-Fi and 3G wireless download capabilities, readers can browse titles and make purchases with the push of a button and have access to reading selections within seconds, without ever having to visit a bookstore or stand in a line.  Storing books digitally carries obvious advantages over housing books on shelves, the most notable being that readers never run out of space on their bookshelves.  Digital books generate less wear-and-tear on the environment, as they do not require paper to manufacture, nor are massive ships and vehicles needed to transport the books, burning large amounts of fuel in the process.  Before advances in E Ink technology, reading using devices such as laptops required sustained reading on a backlit screen, something many individuals find taxing on their eyes.  Today, e-books offer the same advantages as reading from paper, including the absence of a backlit screen or glare from sunlight when reading outdoors.  E-readers even allow users to choose from different fonts to suit their own tastes, in addition to letting users adjust font sizes.

                E-books are also frequently less expensive than traditional books, although pricing of e-books has been a significant source of contention and controversy among publishers, e-book retailers, and consumers.  Many consumers have argued that publishers should not charge similar amounts for e-books and traditional books, due to the lower production costs involved with e-books, and with the delivery of e-books consumers are not provided with a physical, exchangeable, tangible product in the traditional sense.  There has also been some speculation that at least one e-book retailer engaged in a marketing strategy involving the sale of individual e-books for significantly less that the retailer paid publishers for the material.  The tactic, it is assumed, was intended to attract greater sales of its proprietary e-reader to command a greater share of the e-reader market.  Because e-books purchased for use on the company’s e-reader device cannot be transferred or read on other devices, it is likely the tactic was also adopted to created a degree of “path dependency” among consumers; consumers exclusively switching to competitors’ devices in the future would effectively “lose” their previous electronic library.  The practice also proved frustrating to publishers when many consumers came to expect e-book pricing below what publishers anticipated or intended, or possible could afford. 

                Some publishers, meanwhile, have contended that the retail price of e-books and traditional books should be commensurate, as the production cost of e-books is not substantially lower than that off traditional hard-copy texts.  The cost of printing and shipping physical books, because they are produced in large numbers, do not account for the majority of production costs.  Advances that publishers must pay to attract authors, for example, and which regularly amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for only one or two titles, are a more significant cost to publishers than the actual printing of books.  Publishers also devote enormous sums of money into marketing and promotional campaigns, without which most titles would languish in obscurity, whether as hard-copies or e-books.  Chances are, if a reader has heard of a particular title, a company somewhere spent a considerable amount of time and money promoting it among consumers.  Additionally, the cost of producing e-books and regular books are the same in terms of editorial expenditures, which includes the salaries of editors and editorial assistants, office space and utility costs, technological infrastructure and upkeep, design costs, not to mention the technological expertise required to convert book content into a range of electronic formats. 

 

1.  According to the passage, an advantage to e-reader for consumers is:

a.  The low cost of e-reader devices compared to individual traditional books

b.  A larger number of titles are available on e-readers than with traditional books

c.  E-books are cheaper to produce

d.  E-books are easier to store

e.  E-books are easily transferable between e-reader devices by different manufacturers

 

2.  According to the passage, e-reader devices became widely used:

a.  in 2007

b.  in 2011

c.  in 2008

d.  between 2005 and 2007

e.  between 2008 and 2011

 

3.  According to the passage, which of the following is NOT an advantage offered by e-readers:

a.  They are better for the environment

b.  Consumers can buy books in seconds

c.  They promote business at local bookstores

d.  E Ink technology is similar to reading from a page

e.  E-readers allow readers to choose the font they prefer

 

4.  The word “commensurate” in the fifth paragraph most likely means:

a.  Comparable

b.  Higher

c.  Lower

d.  Better

e.  Worse

 

5.  An appropriate title for this passage would be:

a.  Why E-Books Should Be Cheap

b.  A Short History of Technology

c.  How E-Books are Marketed

d.  How Technology Has Changed Reading

e.  The Decline of Traditional Publishing

 

6.  The word “languish” in the middle of the fifth paragraph means:

a.  The English Language

b.  Rejoice

c.  Decay

d.  Prosper

e.  Produce

 

7.  The overall thrust of the passage suggests which of the following:

a.  That the author prefers traditional books

b.  That the author prefers e-books

c.  That the author believes e-books should cost less than traditional books

d.  That the author is eager to see the decline of traditional publishing

e.  That the author sees a market situation that is not yet settled

 

8.  The passage indicates that e-readers became more popular recently due to:

a.  A significant drop in price

b.  Cooperation between manufacturers

c.  More features

d.  Both “a” and “b”

e.  Both “a” and “c”

 

9.  According to the passage, publishers prefer similar pricing between e-books and traditional books because:

a.  Consumers prefer it

b.  Retailers prefer it

c.  Shipping costs are the same for both

d.  Editorial costs are the same for both

e.  E-books are harder to produce than traditional books

 

10.  According to the passage, consumer perceptions about the appropriate price for e-books has partially been shaped by:

a.  Sympathy for major publishing houses

b.  Retailer marketing and sales strategies

c.  The public’s desire to pay authors more

d.  The cost of digital music downloads

e.  Path dependency

Reading Comprehension Exercise 1

Two notes:

*I have not provided answer keys to assist in reviewing student responses.  This is deliberate.  One reason for this is to encourage teachers and parents to read the passages with students, rather than to rely on an answer key to check responses.  “Right” and “wrong” answers certainly exist, but I believe it is more important for adults and students to discuss with one another how they reached their conclusions than it is to simply align their answers with what I would contend are the correct responses.  When practicing reading comprehension, it is sound strategy for readers to eliminate as many obvious wrong answers as possible, narrowing the choice down to no more than two likely responses.  If students can consistently narrow the choices down to two probable answers, they are on the path to success – narrowing it from two to one typically becomes easy and almost automatic.  In short, an answer key might do more harm than good by distracting students and teachers from focusing on and developing a process for analyzing a text.

*Many passages, including the one below, will be convoluted and scattered in terms of structure and content.  They are not intended to tell a perfectly coherent story.  I don’t even guarantee that all facts presented in these passages are correct.  The point of the passages is not to inform, but to encourage students to confront and comprehend each passage strictly on the passage’s terms, to read closely, and not to project prior knowledge or assumptions onto the text. 

Reading Comprehension Practice, Exercise 1

               Sima Qian (135 BCE? – 86 BCE) stands as one of the colossal figures of ancient China.  As the author of the Shi ji (often translated as “The Records of the Grand Historian”), he is often held up as the Chinese counterpart to Herodotus and Thucydides, the celebrated historians of ancient Greece who, respectively, wrote about the Persian War and the Peloponnesian Wars.  Fulfilling the wishes of his father, Sima Tan, who preceded him as a Prefect to the Grand Scribes during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Sima Qian completed the massive Shi ji despite living the last quarter of his life in official disgrace, having been punished for defending an officer blamed for a military defeat in northern China. 

                The Shi ji  contains 130 chapters of biographies of famous personalities and discusses over 2,000 years of early Chinese history, from the era of the Yellow Emperor down through that of Emperor Wu.  The work is especially famous for its inclusion of Sima Tan’s controversial cataloguing of the so-called “Hundred Schools “ into six large groupings or “schools”:  Yinyang, Ru (Confucians), Mo (Mohists), Fajia (Legalists), Mingjia (Sophists), and Daojia  (Daoists).  Sima Tan’s six classifications have held tremendous sway as a framework for studying ancient Chinese Master’s literature through the centuries, but modern scholars tend to agree that the groupings represent, at best, an over-simplification of the diversity of thought that existed during the Warring States period.  Many scholars today insist that Sima Tan’s six classifications are anachronisms and offer no reflection of anything other than Sima Tan’s own peculiar views on the subject.  Given the relative scarcity of surviving texts from the Warring States, it is difficult to tell if the classifications were entirely the fruit of Sima Tan’s mind, or if they represent widely held opinions that carried over to him from a previous era. 

                As a template for recording history, Sima Qian relied heavily on the precedent and model of the Spring and Autumn Annals, a historical record of the state of Lu covering the period from 722 BCE to 481 BCE purportedly recorded by Confucius.  Nonetheless, the Shi ji departs magnificently from the Spring and Autumn Annals model in terms of style, format, subject matter, and method.  For example, whereas the Spring and Autumn Annals is essentially a chronicle of events involving matters of state and the aristocracy, the Shi ji devotes immense space to describing personalities and events involving lesser-born individuals.  Some of the most famous passages from Shi ji focus not on high-born nobles, but on “assassins” – typically loyal individuals who swore to avenge the wrongs perpetrated against their former patrons and sponsors.  A good example of the assassin trope with which modern readers may be familiar can be found in the Zhang Yimou film Hero, starring Jet Li and Ziya Zhang, and based loosely on story of Jing Ke in the Shi ji. 

                Another difference between the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Shi ji can be observed in how Sima Qian regularly de-emphasizes the personal shortcomings of his subjects.  For a variety of reasons, the author of the Spring and Autumn Annals almost completely omitted negative details and information about some high ranking persons when writing about them.  This is not the case in the Shi ji.   Sima Qian’s commitment to recording facts as they happened exceeded that of the author of the Spring and Autumn Annals.  Nonetheless, it is interesting to note how Sima Qian often hid negative information about his subjects throughout the text, sometimes by discussing individuals positively in their actual biographies , and then discussing their faults only in separate, distant sections of the enormous text.  For this reason, it can be difficult to secure an accurate portrait of certain ancient personalities by reading only select portions of the text. 

 

1.  According to the passage, Sima Qian is often compared to:

a.  Confucius

b.  Thucydides

c.  Herodotus and Thucydides

d.  Herodotus, Thucydides, and Confucius

e.  Herodotus

 

2.  The passage clearly conveys which of the following:

a. The classification of the six schools was devised by Sima Qian

b.  Sima Qian was a contemporary of Thucydides

c.  Sima Qian experienced serious adversity in the latter part of his life

d.  Sima Qian was a passionate supporter and of Emperor Wu 

e.  Sima Tan was more inclined toward Daoist thought than Confucian thought

 

3.  An appropriate title for this passage would be:

 a. Sima Tan and Sima Qian:  Father and Son

b.  Sima Qian, Herodotus and Thucydides:  Three of a Kind

c.  Sima Qian:  Modern Historian

d.  Sima Qian:  The Grand Historian

e.  The Influence of the Spring and Autumn Annals on the Shi ji

 

4.  Which of the following best describes the tone of the passage:

a.  Critical and dismissive of Sima Qian and the Shi ji

b.  Laudatory

c.  Appreciative, but measured

d.  Derisive

e.  Celebratory

 

5.  Which of the following is NOT discussed in the passage:

a.  The subject of Herodotus’ historical writings

b.  Reasons why the author of the Spring and Autumn Annals did not record certain events and information 

c.  The number of total chapters present in the Shi ji

d.  The inspiration behind the movie Hero

e.  The time-frame covered by the Shi ji

 

6.  The word “template” toward the start of the third paragraph in the passage probably means:

a.  A religious instruction

b.  An imperial command

c.  Chronicle

d.  A historical record

e.  A model

 

7.  One can infer from the passage that:

a.  Herodotus and Thucydides offer more reliable information than Sima Qian

b.  The Zhuangzi and the Daodejing had important influences on Sima Qian

c.  Sima Qian respected the author of the Spring and Autumn Annals

d.  There was nothing original about the Shi ji or Sima Qian’s methods

e.  The Shi ji was an official history commissioned by Emperor Wu

 

8.  Based on this passage, which of the following can be inferred about the Warring States period:

a.  Confucius was alive during the period

b.  It took place before Sima Tan’s lifetime

c.  There were six major schools of thought during the period

d.  Confucians and Mohists despised one another

e.  The Spring and Autumn Annals was composed during the period

 

9.  The word “respectively” in the second sentence alerts us to which of the following:

a.  Both Herodotus and Thucydides wrote about the Peloponnesian Wars

b.  The main focus of Thucydides’ work is the Persian War

c.  The main focus of Herodotus’ work is the Persian War

d.  The main focus of Herodotus’ work is the Peloponnesian Wars

e.  Herodotus and Thucydides were contemporaries

 

10.  In the second paragraph, the word “anachronisms” refers to:

a.  Old-fashioned beliefs

b.  A projection of beliefs and ideas from a later era onto an earlier era

c.  Dangerous snakes

d.  A projection of beliefs and ideas from an earlier era onto a later era

e.  Official names for particular schools of thought