Dobbs Ferry has joined several other local districts in asking Newsweek magazine to no longer rank their schools in its list of top high schools. The districts say any system that ranks schools based on a single indicator, including the percentage who take advanced courses which Newsweek uses, is flawed.

We’re running down the story, but you can read a letter that Dobbs Ferry superintendent Debra Kaplan sent to parents here.

UPDATE: A total of 39 38 school districts in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois and Massachusetts signed on to a letter sent to Newsweek editors, criticizing the ranking methodology and seeking to be removed. Here’s the list:

New York: Ardsley, Bedford, Blind Brook, Brewster, Bronxville, Byram Hills, Chappaqua, Dobbs Ferry, Edgemont, Greenburgh-North Castle, Hewlett-Woodmere, Katonah-Lewisboro, Mamaroneck, Mount Pleasant-Cottage, Nanuet, North Shore, Ossining, Rye Neck, Scarsdale, Spackenkill, Tuckahoe and Valhalla.

New Jersey: Montclair, Montgomery, Tenafly, Verona

Connecticut: Darien, Simsbury, Stonington, Wilton

Illinois: Decatur, Deerfield/Highland Park Township, Evanston, Glenbrook, Lincoln-Way, New Trier, Oak Park and River Forest HS District 200

Massachusetts: Amherst-Pelham, Masconomet, Wayland

UPDATE 2: This issue also reaches up to colleges. Read a previous post about the U.S. News and World Report College rankings here.