School district ranking info

[supercalifragilous]

How do you find out how your school district compares to the rest of the country? All I can get access to is how the schools perform in test scores in reading and math (which aren't impressive at all).

[shilo]

i don't think i've ever seen that kind of rating before for the entire country. i think maybe us news and world report puts out a top 100 schools or some such list, but i'm not sure if their ratings only include academics or more than that. i don't think i can remember seeing districts compared nationally.

i do know that college admissions offices have some sort of ranking of high schools because i worked in the admissions office a little bit while in school. my alma matter had a weighted score they used as a multiplier of sorts for evening out transcripts. ie. school ABC was a really good school so even if a kid had a 3.0 from there, it might go up to a 3.75 after the multiplier was applied. school XYZ didn't have such a great record and so even if a kid there had a 4.0, it might only be a 3.25 after the multiplier. this let them compare apples to apples so to speak. i'm not sure if their multipliers were something they develloped themselves over time based on their experiences with kids they'd accepted and then educated for 4 years from those schools, or if it was some sort of national 'list' that they used. if it is a national list, it's probably based on SAT scores, so that still may not be what you're looking for. i'm also not at all sure how you'd get your hands on it.

greatschools.net allows you to compare schools in your state and county easily by using their 'search within a district' tool, but i don't think they do anything ranking schools between states. their 'rating' system is a simple 10 point scale - 10 tests better than 90% of the schools in that state, 9 tests better than 80% to 90% of the state, 4 tests better than 30% to 40%, etc.

also, our state runs a distinguished schools program as well as the feds who run a national blue ribbon school program. in our area, more of the public schools than not have gotten at least one of these awards in the last few years tho, so that may or may not help you choose between schools in your area. try your states department of education page for their program and a list of schools who have received it. in our state the award is 'good' for 4 years. i think the national ones alternate between primary and secondary each year, so the awards are for 2 years. but these awards are partially based on the no child left behind program now, so that may or may not also help you get toward what you're looking for. ie. a school may have been awarded based on it's 'plan' to improve scores and a 'percentage' of improvement from one year to the next, but still not have great overall scores for other extenuating reasons.

not sure any of that helps in what you're looking for, but there it is.
lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[hobokenmom]

I know here in NJ, you can access something called the NJ School Report Cards, and get all sorts of information on all the school districts (public and charter).

that doesn't help you, I'm sure, but maybe your state has something similar.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Hijack- Just be careful putting much stock in simply the scores. They present merely a snapshot of performance. And it may not be a very accurate snapshot.

I observed a school while in college and they spent the whole time teaching/ drilling for the up coming standardized tests (2 months away). Some schools are going to put much more emphasis on these tests than others and scores may reflect that. But, for me, I am not sure I would want a school that focuses so much on a test. Some kids (like me) just aren't good test takers but are good students.

Also, when you compare across the country there will probably be some discrepancies caused by race and other socio-economic factors. Like, ESL and such.

I know it is hard b/c it is often the only hard data you can get about a school when you are trying to choose outside of the area. I think it is important to visit the schools, if you can, and address your concerns there. Maybe they have a plan in place to deal with this.

Beth

[MommytoDylan]

ITA! I taught elementary school for many years. In my experience, the "top" schools drilled and drilled facts and had a higher income population. There is tremendous pressure from parents in these areas to see high test scores so that often becomes the focus of class time. So much is missed when this is the focus. (Students who attend these schools have usually had more parent help along the way--preschool, tutoring, stay at home mom focused on every homework assignment/project, etc.)

Visit the schools and see what emphasis they put on art and music too. Look at the classrooms and observe reading instruction time. What is their Social Studies curriculum like? You want to see children excited about learning. When I taught 3rd and 4th grade, the kids would get so excited when I introduced a new concept I'd have to calm them down a bit before continuing. School can be exciting, fun, inspiring, and produce great test scores. I focused on the concepts through creative teaching and my students learned lots and did very well on the tests. I was always proud of my students' test scores but this was not my focus, IFKWIM.

Meredith

[newmomto3kids]

Thanks for that site...I was pleasantly surprised at the scores of my children's school.
Thanks again for the great info, I have bookmarked it!

[elizabethkott]

Ooooh, ITA too!

Be really careful... That "Top 100 Schoos" list is put out by Newsweek, and it measures High Schools based only on how many students are enrolled in AP classes - not how many students actually TAKE the AP exam (you can take the course without having to take the exam, so a lot of kids take the course so it looks good on their transcript for college). It also doesn't look at how they actually score on the exam if they take it... it;s really not an accurate assessment.

It's great to want to assess how a school is doing, but when looking at the assessment and comparing one school to another, it's really important to take a look at what the assessment is based on, and what is actually being compared.

As a teacher, IMO it's best to actually go into the schools. Tell them that you are thinking of moving to the area, and want to look around the school, speak with some teachers or administrators, etc. By law, no school can deny this to you (at least not in New York State). Most principals would be delighted to set you up with someone to show you around the school and speak with you. Try to go during the actual school day, and see everything from lunchroom and recess to actual classes in session. Do the faculty seem knowledgable? How do the rest of the staff (security, aids, etc) interact with the students? Are the students polite? Does there seem to be an 'energy' to the school?

Just don't fall into the trap of trusting what some report says about any school or district - sometimes the report is put out by someone with an agenda, or even worse, put out by someone who doesn't really know much about education to begin with.

[JBaxter]

Here you can call the school board and they will send you the year end report of all the schools. It lists all the tests and the goal achievements for each school.