1. Townsend Harris (Flushing)
– 98.9%
2. Academy of American Studies (Long Island City) – 88.1%
3. Thomas Edison Career and Technical High School (Jamaica)
– 87.8%
4. Benjamin Cardozo (Bayside)
– 87.2%
5. Robert F. Kennedy (Flushing) – 85.9%
6. Forest Hills High School
(Forest Hills) – 81.3%
7. Bayside High School (Bayside) – 76.8 %
8. Van Buren High School (Queens Village) – 75.9%
9. Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School
(Jamaica) – 72.5%
10. Francis Lewis High School (Fresh Meadows) – 70.2%
Source: Dept. of Education

Top Schools

Overall
Students with perfect scores seem to find their way to the head of the class. At some Queens elementary schools, no matter where you sit, there’s a good chance of acing the citywide math and reading exams.

Last May, the new 3rd grade promotional policy required students pass each of these exams before reaching fourth grade. For these schools, that wasn’t a problem. Every third grader at the following schools scored at or above grade level, high enough to be promoted to the fourth grade.

Region 3,
District 25

PS. 79, PS 130, PS 163, PS 169, PS 214, PS 242

Region 3,
District 28
PS 101, PS 182, PS 195

Region 4,
District 30
PS 234

Region 3,
District 26

PS 26, PS 41, PS 46, PS 94, PS 98, PS 115, PS 159, PS 162, PS 178, PS 188, PS 191, PS 203, PS 205, PS 221

Region 4,
District 24
PS 28, PS 49, PS 128

Source: Dept. of Education

Excuses for not doing homework

For every step along the academic path, students somehow discover the most unusual detours around doing homework. Compiled below are some of the Tribune’s favorite excuses. They were selected from former students whose change of heart is openly professed online, and whispered about in hallways, as the most amazing excuses ever told to teachers.

1. You said it was due tomorrow, but right now, it’s today.
2. The Loveyourhomework Virus crashed my computer.
3. I have a solar powered calculator and it was cloudy yesterday. I’ll do my math when the weather clears up.
4. I was arrested on my way home and just made bail this morning.
5. My homework and I were in the middle of playing hide-and-seek.
6. I heard about police and firemen doing more with less and figured I should learn more by doing less homework.
7. My mom was too tired to do my homework last night.
8. You were serious about reading all that?
9. I donated it to someone less fortunate.
10. I accidentally divided by zero and the paper burst into flames.

Heaviest Textbooks

With friends, relationships, classes, parents, and everything else, high school can be quite a burden. Add several 15-pound textbooks to that, and high school can be downright crippling. Here is a list of the heaviest textbooks according to the students of Forest Hills High School.

1. “Chemistry: The Central Science” - Ninth Edition
2. “Prentice Hall Chemistry: The Study of Matter”
3. “Psychology” - Sixth Edition
4. “Perspectives On Health”
5. “The American Pageant”
6. “Business Today” - Ninth Edition

Source: The students of Forest Hills High School

Most Popular College Courses

College students sometimes take classes because they will aid them toward a specific degree that will then lead to a career. But usually they take classes because they have no idea what they want to do for a career. The following are the 10 courses, with the highest enrollment at Queens College (in Spring ’04 and Fall ’03), number one being the class with the highest enrollment of all.

Spring 2004:
1. English 120
2. Sociology 101
3. Psychology 101
4. Anthropology 101
5. English 110
6. Computer Science 12
7. Philosophy 101
8. Math 110
9. Music 01
10. Math 122

Fall 2003:
1. English 110
2. Psychology 101
3. Computer Science 12
4. Sociology 101
5. Anthropology 101
6. Biology 11
7. Environmental Science 111
8. Philosophy 101
9. Biology 107
10. Economics 101

Source: Queens College Office of Institutional Research

School Sports

School pride gets personified when students drop their books and pick up baseball bats, basketballs and nine-irons. School sports have long turned teacher’s pets and class clowns into cheerleaders. Here’s some of the borough’s best teams worth rooting for.

1) Christ the King
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Christ the King has produced eight professional baseball and basketball players, and taken home numerous city championships.
The girl’s won 18 consecutive Catholic high school city championships, and 13 statewide.
NBA players from Christ the King include Speedy Claxton, Lamar Odom and Erick Barkley, who played together for two seasons. Other notables include Jason Williams, Derrick Phelps, and WNBA players Sue Bird and Chamique Holdsclaw.

2) Archbishop Molloy H.S.
Men’s Basketball
Whether its on the hardwood floor or the baseball diamond, Molloy Stanners are led by Coach Jack Curran, who racked up the most wins in Catholic High School Athletic Association History since joining the school in 1958.
A look at the athletic alum hint at why he’s so successful: NBA players Kenny Anderson, Kenny Smith; player/coaches Kevin Joyce, and Brian Winters. Curran, was preceeded by another legendary coach at the school, Lou Carnesecca, who went on to St. John’s and the New Jersey Nets briefly.

3) St. John’s University
Men’s Basketball
Complete with Carneseca Court, St. John’s Basketball combines homegrown talent with a national reputation. Among the school’s all-time leading scorers are NBA notables Chris Mullins, who won a gold medal at the ’84 Los Angeles Olympics with the men’s national team while still a member of the St. John’s squad; and Malik Sealy, a 1992 first round draft pick of the Indiana Pacers, who played through the 2000 season.
Currently, fans can catch Cardozo graduate Daryl “Showtime” Hall, Odom’s cousin, playing at St. Johns.

4) Townsend Harris
Men’s Varsity Basketball
Men’s had a near perfect 15-1 record in 2004, up from a 9-7 record the previous year.

5) Benjamin Cardozo
Men’s Varsity Basketball
Men’s varsity basketball squad went a perfect 14-0 in 2004, improving from their 12-2 record in 2003, and 13-1 record in 2002.

6) Bayside High Schools
Girl’s Varsity Softball
Girl’s varsity softball team went 14-1 in the 2004 season, after tying for first last year with Francis Lewis High School, with a 15-3 record.

7) Both John Bowne and Beach Channel High Schools
Girl’s Basketball
These girl’s varsity basketball teams had impressive 2004 season. Bowne’s squad won the most games, 18, with 2 losses. Channel went unbeaten in their 16 games.

8) Long Island City and William Bryant High Schools
Wrestling
The Wrestling teams went 11-1 in 2004, with LIC’s team edging Bryant in the overall points that year, 117 to 108.

9) Townsend Harris
Bowling
Bowling at Townsend Harris was perfect in 2004, as the girl’s team went unbeaten in 12 competitions.

10) Benjamin Cardozo
Golf
The boys at Benjamin Cardozo imitated Tiger Woods on the green last year, going a perfect 10 and 0 in the 2004 season.

Source: Public School Athletic League website, www.psal.org.