WHAT MAKES THEM GOOD?

As president of a school board planning a big (1,250 students), new high school, Robert Marschner, 49, of Homewood, 111., 25 miles outside of Chicago, wanted to do things right. What, he asked himself, are the outstanding secondary schools in the U.S. that would serve as models? Since no one seemed able to give him a satisfactory answer, he drew up a list of his own: those schools that in the last two years produced 20 or more finalists in the National Merit Scholarship race. Not a complete criterion, Marschner admitted, but "far better than nothing." Then he wrote to the principals to find out what makes a good school good.

The Marschner list included 35 public schools and three private.* The senior classes range in size from 100 to 1,200 pupils, send anywhere from 30% to nearly 100% of their students to college. Though the principals credited their schools' success to such factors as the educational level of their community and the quality of their teachers, most indicated that the decisive factor was old-fashioned hard work.

The majority of the schools give frequent tests and examinations, assign long hours of homework, spend generously on their libraries. They are not afraid to injure young psyches by publishing academic honors or assigning students to groups according to ability. About half the schools give superior students college-level work. Only one principal bothered to mention his physical plant as a major asset; only a few mentioned extracurricular activities. But their comments spoke volumes: "I am never happy except with superior work." "We simply refuse to accept mediocrity." "We started high and raised our standards from year to year." "When in doubt, give the lower grade."

THE 38 OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS

Alabama

Murphy High, Mobile

Shades Valley High, Birmingham Arkansas

Central High, Little Rock California

Berkeley Senior High Florida

Coral Gables Senior High Illinois

Evanston Township High

Highland Park High

New Trier Township High, Winnetka Indiana

Shortridge High, Indianapolis Kansas

Shawnee-Mission High, Merriam

Topeka High Maryland

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High, Bethesda

Massachusetts

Brookline High

Newton High

Phillips Academy, Andover

Mississippi

William B. Murrah High, Jackson

Missouri

Southwest High, Kansas City

Nebraska

Central High, Omaha

New Hampshire

Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter

New York

Bronx High School of Science Erasmus Hall High, Brooklyn Forest Hills High Great Neck High. Midwood High, Brooklyn Regis High, Manhattan

Ohio

Shaker Heights High, Cleveland

Walnut Hills High, Cincinnati Oklahoma

Will Rogers High, Tulsa

Tulsa Central High Pennsylvania

Central High, Philadelphia

Lower Merion High, Ardmore

Mount Lebanon High, Pittsburgh Tennessee

Centra'l High, Memphis Texas

Highland Park High, Dallas

Mirabeau B. Lamar High, Houston Utah

East High, Salt Lake City Virginia

Washington-Lee High, Arlington Washington

Roosevelt High, Seattle

Reason for so few private schools: most do not have enough students, either in number or in need, to meet the 20-finalists requirement.

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