By REBECCA WALSH education reporter
Secondary school students already know how they measured up in School Certificate - now it's time for their schools to be graded.
Today we publish School Certificate and Bursary results for schools in the upper half of the North Island.
Publication of the tables has been criticised by some, who say exam results tell only part of the story of a school's achievements.
But schools that do well are happy for the results to be trumpeted.
Not surprisingly, private schools and girls' schools feature prominently at the top of the rankings.
Nationally, Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in Wellington gained the most A grades for School Certificate.
Of the 396 papers sat by students, 35.6 per cent were awarded an A grade (a final mark between 80 and 100 per cent).
A close second and top in Auckland was Diocesan School for Girls - 33.7 per cent of the 1084 papers gained A grades.
Also in the country's top 10 are St Cuthbert's (32.5), Chilton St James, Wellington (30.2), the Junior College of New Zealand, Auckland (28.9), Queen Margaret, Wellington (24.1), Christchurch Girls' (23.7), Rangi Ruru, Christchurch (23.7), Auckland Grammar School (23.6) and Columba College, Dunedin (21.9).
When B passes (marks of 65 to 79 per cent) are added to the mix, most of the country's top 10 schools in the country remained in the top 10.
The statistics, obtained from the Qualifications Authority, show Auckland's Junior College, which offers "outstanding fourth-formers" the opportunity to sit School Certificate English and maths, gained nearly 30 per cent of A grades in the 38 papers sat.
Hamilton's Hillcrest High School principal, Kevin Hessell, said his school, which focused on academic achievement in exams, normally did "very well."
But he warned that league tables should not be seen as the sole determinant of a school's success.
They did not take into account a school's socio-economic status, nor did they measure the level of difference a school had made in a student's achievement.
He said results could be skewed if schools did not permit less able students to sit School Certificate.
A school's values, environment and the extra-curricular activities on offer also needed to be considered.
Peter Clague, principal of the senior school at Kristin College, a private, co-educational school on Auckland's North Shore, described the school as "unashamedly academic."
Much of the money paid in fees was spent on reducing class sizes, which had a positive impact on student achievement.
The average class size in the fifth form was 21 students.
Qualifications Authority spokesman Bill Lennox cautioned that the figures gave an incomplete picture of qualifications achievements because they did not include unit standard results for subjects such as computing or travel and tourism.
Thirty schools in the Herald's circulation area did not achieve any A grades.