Yet another ranking of China’s international schools was released this week, but gaps in the data make the results suspect.

The China International School Competitiveness Ranking·2019 was announced by Kinglead, an education resources and services platform, on Dec 3. Kinglead organized their rankings in two separate lists, one using acceptances into US colleges, and the other using UK acceptances.

Based on its rankings, Beijing has four of the top 10 international schools in terms of US acceptances, and none in the top in terms of UK acceptances.

Kinglead also used two other ranking criteria on both lists: International Certifications and an evaluation of faculty based on data such as student-teacher ratio.

The deeper we dug into this data, the more we realized that its validity is suspect due to the incomplete nature of the data.

While the ranking criteria is quite robust, there is simply too many data points missing for the rankings to be truly useful. For instance, only 26 of Beijing’s international schools turn up on the list at all, with many prominent schools left off entirely, presumably due to not having any of the three data points available for analysis, or perhaps are sending a disproportionate number of students to non-US/UK universities such as the French School or the Canadian School.

Out of the 26 that were listed, a mere six had all three data points – Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Beijing City International School (BCIS), Beijing Royal School, Harrow Beijing, Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing) (and all ranked quite similarly).

As we blogged before, ranking in no way represents the quality or education found at a school, in a classroom, nor the impact a particular professor may have had on an individual student.

Like Hurun Education’s controversial rankings that were released earlier this year, Kinglead’s ranking system need to be taken with a grain of salt.

According to the Rankings, here are the Beijing schools in the top 50 for US and UK university enrollments with their corresponding ranking:

U.S

1. The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University (SDSZ)

5. Dulwich College Beijing

7. The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China

8. Beijing No. 4 High School International Campus

12. International School of Beijing

29. Tsinghua University High School International – Chaoyang

30. Beijing Royal School

32. International Department of Beijing No. 35 High School

45. Western Academy of Beijing

48. Beijing City International School

50. The Affiliated High School of Peking University Dalton Academy

U.K

21. International Department of Beijing No. 35 High School

24. Dulwich College Beijing

28. Ulink College of Beijing

35. Harrow International School Beijing

36. Western Academy of Beijing

37. Beijing City International School

40. Yew Chung International School of Beijing

41. International School of Beijing

44. Beijing Royal School

In response to the Competitiveness Rankings of China’s International Schools 2019, we received some opinions from parents.

When asked if rankings such as this would ever influence school choice for his kids, Mike Signorelli stated, “The rankings had no influence on our decision. We focused on bilingual schools in our area and spoke with various parents and made visits to the top choices.”

Likewise, Tim Coghlan echoed a similar sentiment, “My kids too young, but basically we would totally ignore these lists in preference for actual personal research and school visits.”

“I like to look at these things just to see but they do NOT influence our decision at all. And I wouldn’t go in search of it either. We look at location, curriculum, have a school visit & definitely talk to other parents!” Said Elisabeth Koch.

Photos: jinglingedu.com, pexels.com

According to the latest update at the end of March, 315 Chinese students have received admission offers from Ivy League Schools. Beijing students alone made up 63 of those offers.

Early admissions (ED/EA)* were announced in December, while regular admissions (RD)* were announced at the end of March. The application date is usually in late December of that year or February of the following year. This gives applicants enough time to prepare the materials needed for the application and to also study for the exam. 

The following statistics are derived from the schools’ official website, official WeChat public platforms and other channels. If there are omissions or errors, please message us.

Admission statistics for Beijing

Beijing received a total of 63 Ivy League offers this year, accounting for more than 20% of the total offers, ranking first among Chinese cities.

The top three schools receiving offers were: the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, and Beijing National Day School. International schools and private bilingual schools are gaining more momentum year by year.

Comparisons to 2018 Enrollment Status

In 2019, the average acceptance rate at Ivy League schools was just 6.7 percent. Only two out of eight, Cornell and Princeton, saw increases in admissions.

Harvard’s acceptance rate fell slightly from last year to 4.5 percent, making it America’s most selective university for the second year in a row. While at Cornell, the acceptance rate rose to 10.6 percent. Cornell has been expanding its classes, acceptance rates are much higher than others.

Why are acceptance rates getting lower?

There are several factors behind the lower acceptance rates. These factors include: reservation of seats for underprivileged students, diversification of the student body, and Legacy Students.

Ivy League schools reserve a part of their admissions for first generation students from underprivileged families in the United States. Harvard, for example, set aside 16.4 percent of its seats this year, and the University of Pennsylvania set aside 15 percent.

Ivy League schools also reserve admission offers for students who are ethnic minorities as a part of their affirmative action policies. Students who are of African-American, Latino, and Native American descent are given greater considerations than other students in order to bring greater diversity to the schools.

“Legacy Student” refers to students whose parents or relatives are an alumni of a particular school that they are applying to. These students will receive preferential treatment in admission due to that fact. Harvard University, for example, has nearly 30 percent of its student population consisting of “Legacy Students”. 

＊ED: Early Decision. An applicant can apply to only one school and must attend if admitted.
＊RD: Regular Decision. Applicants can apply for multiple schools at the same time, but the competition is fierce.

Photo：upenn.edu
Sources: Jingkids.com, Sohu.com, NewSchool Insight, gpamaster, TBEducation, babazhenbang

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of beijingkids or True Run Media.

Our recent post about the standing of Beijing’s international schools in the Hurun Education Top 100 is one of our most-read ever, having attracted thousands of views online and via WeChat in the space of three days. However, it has also prompted debate about the meaning and value of such school rankings.

On the face of it, it’s good news for Beijing education, with 26 local schools in the Top 100, and half the top 10 based in the capital. But it’s easy to see how such league tables cause more angst than celebration. If you’re number two, should you worry why you’re not number one?

Such concerns are compounded by the methodology used. The Hurun list is entirely subjective, based on votes from 330 experts. This might be justified by appeal to “the wisdom of the crowd”, but is 330 a big enough sample? Who selected them, and on what basis? Where are they based geographically, and how might this have influenced their idea of which the “best” schools are? It’s notable that, while there are K-12 schools on the list, there are none without a high school element; in other words, this is assessing education as a route to college. There may be extraordinary, innovative, transformative work going on at kindergarten and elementary level, which is not recognized here.

Even if a more rigorous method is used though, league tables for schools remain controversial. Educators complain that they result in “teaching to the test”, skewing practice toward pushing the school up the table instead of treating children as unique individuals. There are allegations that schools “manage out” lower-achieving students so that they don’t drag down their results, or simply don’t allow them to sit exams. And then there is the “Matthew Effect,” so named for a quote from the eponymous Gospel: “For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” High-ranking schools attract more funding, better teachers, and more pushy, ambitious parents, so that the tables become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Supporters of league tables point to an interesting real-world experiment which appears to vindicate their use. England and Wales began ranking schools in 1988, but in 2001, the regional government in Wales voted to abolish them. In virtually every other respect, the systems remained identical but researchers discovered a subsequent decline in standards in Welsh schools. “We find significant and robust evidence that this reform markedly reduced school effectiveness in Wales,” they reported.

However, the researchers measured “school effectiveness” by the same measure that the league tables use: passing exams. There is no doubt that achieving qualifications is important, but it is not the most significant contributor to our children’s future prosperity and happiness. The problem with league tables is that children are individuals and averages.

For our recent School Choice Guide, we spoke in confidence to numerous parents about their experience of Beijing’s international schools. Some had horror stories to tell about their experiences, but other parents would praise enthusiastically the very same school. We concluded, in the words we used as the theme for the Jingkids International School Expo 2019, that “One Size Does Not Fit All.” There is no “best” school – just the best school for your child, right now.

When it comes to choosing a school, I would argue that league tables are a much less useful indicator than visiting a school, talking to staff and parents, getting a “feel” for it and trusting your instincts; that a school’s ethos and culture, and how they align with your own family’s values, are vastly more important than the fraction of a percentage point which might separate first from second on a league table, or even first from tenth.

Photo: www.skysports.com

Twenty-six Beijing institutions led a list of China’s Top 100 international schools released yesterday by Hurun Education, with Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) gaining pole position as the top-ranked school in Beijing and the second nationwide.

Hurun, known for its China “rich lists”, bases its methodology on peer-to-peer reviews. During the second half of 2018, Hurun researchers polled 330 experts: half were school principals or senior teachers, and the rest were made up of investors, overseas study agents, training centers, and government education departments.

Each respondent was asked to recommend up to five schools from each of the greater Beijing area (Beijing and Tianjin), the greater Shanghai area (Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang) and the Rest of China. Schools were then ranked on an index of 0-100.

While fault could be found in the rigor of the ranking methodology (a single question on “pick five schools” in each of three regions), the rankings are a good indication of at least the word-on-the-street reputations of the schools among an informed populace.

The top-ranked international school in the country was Shanghai High School International Division, an international division of a Chinese public high school. Coming in second was Dulwich College Beijing (DCB), followed by Shanghai’s YK Pao School, International School of Beijing (ISB), and the Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy.

Rounding out the top 5 in Beijing after Dulwich and ISB were SDSZ (Beijing Normal University) International Department, the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, and Keystone Academy.

Beijing had 26 schools on the list, up five from last year, while Shanghai had 23, down 3. Other top cities include Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Suzhou.

Schools in the Top 50 were given numerical ranks, while those from 51-100 were simply listed as “Top 100”.

Beijing Schools on the move include Beijing 21st Century International School, which ranked 8th in Beijing and 20th overall, making the leap from a previous China-wide ranking between 51 and 100.

Beijing City International School (BCIS) made a similar leap from the second half of the China-wide list to rank 10th in Beijing and 24th overall.

Beijing schools making their debut in the top 100 include Tsinghua International School (14th in Beijing, 29th overall), and British School of Beijing, Shunyi (16th in Beijing and 35th overall).

The Beijing Haidian Foreign Language Experiment School, Beijing Kaiwen Academy, Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS), Limai Chinese American (International) School, and the Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada also made their debuts in the Top 100.

Fifty-four percent of the China schools in this ranking are private international schools, up from 47% last year, followed by 26% international divisions of Chinese public schools.

Other information covered in the report includes the average tuition increase at Chinese international schools, rising from RMB 100,000 to 150,000 for international departments of Chinese public schools, and from RMB 250,000 to 300,000 for international schools open to non-Chinese passport holders only.

Also, the percentage of these schools that admit Chinese passport holders rose from 70% to 80% over the past year.

Five Beijing schools also dominated a short ranking of the top 10 extracurricular programs at schools across China that was an additional feature of the report. Those on the unranked list from Beijing were the Beijing National Day School International Department, Dulwich College Beijing (DCB), International School of Beijing (ISB), Keystone Academy, and Western Academy of Beijing (WAB).

Hurun, known for its China “rich lists”, bases its methodology on peer-to-peer reviews. During the second half of 2018, Hurun researchers polled 330 experts: half were school principals or senior teachers, and the rest were made up of investors, overseas study agents, training centers, and government education departments.

Photos: Courtesy of DCB, hurun.net