Good point, cookie. Politicians and schools do mingle and either bus in students to good schools or take good teachers and move them into poorer schools. It is unfortunate and that seems to happen when policy makers mingle with good schools. However, the GreatSchools scores do make me feel better about the school my daughter is or will be attending. I believe that the scores do infact reflect the quality of the school. I'm not sure how many politicians are on the site of GreatSchools, but I know other active, caring, and involved parents are. Standardized testing comes into play and is important. It can be argued how important they should be and how disparaging they can be. I was answering the question on how the GreatSchools test scores help me determine the quality of a school, and so far I have found them to be right on target so I am appreciative for them to have as a starting place to help evaluate a school. Geniemom (witty pun on my name.)

Geronimom, your "feelings" about test scores make them self-fulfilling. Politicians know school ratings have this anesthetizing affect on the public and exploit school ratings to justify non-optimal decisions. The result is that problems (like bad administrators) at well-regarded schools are addressed inadequately. While, on paper, "poor performing" schools reap some benefit (e.g., targeted funding, "rescue" administrators) from the illusion of lesser performance, ratings aggravate the difference between advantaged and disadvantaged districts and schools.

Personally, the GreatSchools test score rating helps me feel beeter (or worse) about the quality of a school. There is something to be said for having higher scores that makes me feel, as a Mother, better about sending my daughter to that particular school. I guess it depends on the standardization and validity of the way this test score is achieved, but if the school is given a higher score by GreatSchools then I feel like I'm doing that much more for my child in her academic and educational journey. I feel a sense of pride that her school receives a higher score and that I have a special place to go to look up that score. For me, as I've mentioned before, we are in the middle of moving, and GreatSchools (and the scores given by them) helped me determine where we were going to live. In my particular case, I chose an area that had high GreatSchool scores. When we finally closed on the house, I found out that my daughter wouldn't be allowed to attend the closest school I thought she would attend as it's third grade is full. However, the school she will be transferring to has an even higher GreatSchools score and this fills me with confidence and quiets my own anxiety about the transition for my daughter. I hope that helps!

Geniemom

Yes and the great staff of Teachers that prepares the students for the test. And doing what it takes for a school to quality.

Thank you, healthy11, I am a firm believer that help comes from places where you least expect them. And this forum is the perfect place for us to get our help. I look forward to reading and learning from the discussions here, at this site. I don't have a child with special needs but I am glad to pass this site to other friends and so on and so on. Great job!!!

to me i think that your kids can rack their brains and score real good on their test and the school still ranks in a low test ranking school. i just don't understand WHY???? when our kids go out and try to get a job after school they can't find anything they majored in. what can the schools do to help our kids prepare themselfs for the time after school....

I looked at the test score numbers closely when we moved from Atlanta to Dahlonega. I was very concerned that the K and 1st grade scores were rated a "5." I guess now that we are in it, I'm finding that my involvement in my son's homework and probably just his own level of intelligence, I believe, has probably had the most effect on his CCRT scores. He's doing very well and much higher than a "5" level. I believe his teachers are very competent. So I don't know that the "overall" level or average of the CCRT scores should be a reflection on the teachers. If you have your own commitments as a parent that you will support your child in learning, I believe the parents have great power in helping their own child succeed whether the kids around him succeed or not. The teachers do a great job in trying to communicate the importance of continuing learning at home.

I don't know, honestly, if the test scores would be the first thing I would look for in determining the quality of a school. It helps to know that, obviously, the staff care enough to find what works and strive to keep the children motivated. I am proud of the fact that I am a parent of children who did and do attend Oakdale School since the late '80s.

TerriHiggins: you can't mandate or measure "kindness", so I question the value of measuring faculty quality on such a soft, er, quality. Most factors regarding teacher quality are out of anyone's control, despite the millions spent on professional development. One factor well within administrative control is the Principal, who determines the composition, focus and attitude of faculty. The easiest way to ensure good teacher is to be critical of bad principals and insist upon good ones.

Yes, but at the same time, it's not only good test scores, but the fact that the faculty is kind to the kids, and caring enough to make the children want to learn. I went to Redwood School as a child, and now my own children are going there. Sure the staff is all different from when I went there, but the staff is incredible. My kids are happy there, and are all doing well.

Not really it helps but I think the staff of teachers are great they treats me like I am family, they have a very loving and devoted staff they take their positions too a new level so the kids can learn .

CookieRojas, my intention is to direct people with special education questions to post in the other group... At this point, since the ratings question by Elizabeth was originally asked 6 months ago, it may be better for you to start a new discussion if you're still looking for answers on this topic.

This question threat has gotten off the general topic of "test score ratings". As usual, the voice of special education has drowned the focus of academic education. If we're unable to partition special education students, can we at least split the discussion?

tsellars, I would like to encourage you to join Greatschools Learning and Atttention Difficulties Group at community.greatschools.net/groups/11554 and repost more about your son's difficulties there. How old is he? Has he had a comprehensive educational evaluation? There is another poster there, named Sharie001, who is from Louisiana, and she may know more about schools in your area...

i need help my son goes to Tharris school in metarie he is a very slow learner he hates that schools so much that is all they do is fight with him .. he went to a catholic schools but he did not work out..does anybody have any suggestion //please

Have you check with Sterling Park School, they were real good with my little angle.

To rely only on test score to determine the quality of a school is not looking at the whole picture or is it the right way to pick a school for the individual needs of each child and the needs of the family. While this site has separated scores by parent’s education, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomics it doesn't address all of the variables? Anyone who has ever taken a test knows that on any given day your scores can differ. Not to mention parent and community participation. The cultural difference within an individual school and ability groupings are also important factors. Exposing children to enrichment activities afterschool and on weekends are also an important part in how student’s score on test. There are schools that have the opportunity to attract a large population of gifted students and others that are only able to enroll the average and educationally challenged students. Once you are a school that is of the later end of the spectrum, it is hard to ever attract the gifted students. Therefore, you have schools that have a homogeneous population. If the school district paid more attention to balancing each school according to the student’s actual education ability instead of race you would have more balanced test scores in every school. As one person mentioned, it is well known that schools cheat on their tests and I know that as a fact! Unfortunately, cheating is far too pervasive.

Thank you healthy11. Sincerely appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post.

Ecastelo, I'm afraid part of the problem with kids who have special education needs is that no two children, even with the same "diagnosis," are alike.
In some districts, a child with Asperger's may be considered as high functioning Autism, but their education is apt be vastly different than a child who is lower functioning. Some districts may mainstream the Asperger's child into a regular classroom with an aide, others may be in a smaller, self-contained program. One teacher may be great in terms of interacting with a child, another not so good.
For greater reliability, statistics need to be based on large samplings, and if there are only a couple of children in any given school with a given condition, it's hard to get an accurate impression. That's why my suggestion was to contact a support organization for children with Autism in the areas you want to move to, and see if any of those parents can give you advice based on their personal own children's experiences...they're "in the trenches" every day, and would be the best people to give you a recommendation.

Not in my case - I have a son with a learning disability and need to desperately move out of our district and into a "good" district. Except NO ONE can tell me which public school, in any district, is rated high when it comes to teaching Autistic children. Why is that? Is it me? Am I just not looking in the right place? Isn't it OBVIOUS that parents of children with disabilities need this information as well?

Test scores rate students, not schools. Good students will test well regardless of which school they attend. Good students tend to concentrate geographically due to social-economics, and since school enrollments are based largely on geography, good students yield high-rated schools, NOT vice versa.

Schools should be measured by cumulative CHANGE IN student achievement, not absolute scores. Using an extreme example and assuming (also unrealistically) individual students remain constant, a school with all C students who have jumped a letter grade is better than a school of all B students who have not.

We must demand that our districts compare school performance by changes in individual student achievement. In the mean time, we should resists the temptation to weigh ratings and based on aggregate test results.

No i dont think the Sat Scores or any other test determines the quality of the school. See many students freeze when it comes to taking a times test.
The pressure of them having to perfom in such a short time period causes there brain to wonder and get lost. Many students when given the test orally
( one on one test) have greater test scores because the pressure is off. other students test great and many of them are just guessing the write answer. I know because i did that . I hardly ever studied and I aced 98 % of my exams. I think the success of a school is a combination of the teachers communicating with the parents and the parents being in tune with their child/children. The key is being involved questioning why your student is getting low scores etc.

I think it can HELP, but can't be totally relied upon. It's just one of many factors, and should always be looked at more closely. My younger brother's high school is rated very low (2 or 3), and my dad was horrified at the misrepresentation of the school. It was true, of course - a lot of the students are from difficult backgrounds with little parental support, some of the teachers are not that great - but it is a wonderful school for motivated kids. The IB program is taught by some really great teachers, and they are surrounded by other good students in all of their classes. So it's worked great for my brother, who learns a lot there - but the low test scores do indicate some disparity between the honors classes and the normal classes that should concern parents with less high-achieving kids. As thisbattymom pointed out, they shouldn't change your choice of schools, though they can help guide your examination of possible schools.

A little but i can not wait until the orientation

No. I have looked at them but it does not change my choice of schools. My daughter went to a high ranked school and I discovered there are ways that administrators can fudge those scores.
My daughter has special assistance needs and eventually we realized that we were wasting a LOT of money on living in a high ranked school district, paying terrible amounts on uniforms & "donations", and not getting the educational support the poor school around the corner with the lower scores could offer.
When it comes to picking the best school, you have to really look into the whole package. Especially at lower levels the kids are going to get a basic education from any school you put them into. One of the biggest keys to a good school IMHO is the participation of the community in supporting the students & staff - check out the school's PTO to get a REAL look at the value of the education the kids will be getting.

No,no school test scores to me determine the quality of a school.

I used the greatschools test score when we choose Eggert Elementary and it was a good choice for general education. Although it wasn't a good choice for our daughter who has special needs. I wish they had a site set up to show how well a school is doing for children who have an IEP.

No, test scores from great schools did not help me make the correct choice for my daughter school. We moved from NJ, a great school with honors programs. We moved to Miami. I thought I had done my research when I saw in Great School a rating of A for Doral Academy Charter H.S. What a disappointment.

The school failed my expectations being rated A. The school is extremely disorganized, they have uncertified teachers and recent college grads. teachers.

My daughter became extremely depressed due to the condescending manner in which teachers and principal treat students. My daughter was so desmoralized that I had to take her out of this school after the first semester.

Now, my daughter attends Coral Gables H.S., which does not have such great test scores, but I have to say that with their honors, AP and IB Magnet programs, they definately prepare your child for the challenging work that would be confronted at prestigious universities.

At Coral Gables H.S., teachers are certified and experienced;t hey care about students' learning. This is an excellent school. It's sad, that these big H.S. are compared to the small charter schools. Coral Gables H.S. has a lot to offer your child.

It can be a very misleading measure. One example is Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax County, VA. It is a tech school and it's score places them as number one in the country, but behind that number lies an acceptance process where only the brightest and highly motivated are admitted. There are no low scores to average in. The brightest and most highly motived students in my daughter's high school, challenge TJ regularly, yet the overall score for her school is a 5. My daughter receives an incredible education allowing her to take four AP courses each year taught by quality teachers.

The ratings help, but I don't think should be the sole determinant in what school to attend.

I think parents should consider a multitude of sources - test scores, rankings, recognitions the school has received at the state or federal level, as well as reviews from other parents. For those that are moving, reviews from Realtors or even people who work in the realtors' office are helpful - they are local and really know which schools have reputations.

I guess my thing is that no child is "bound" to any school. You can always make a case to change your child's school. It may involve sacrifice (you are responsible for transportation instead of the school bus, paying for private school, etc.), but it can be done.

Yes for sure as I am moving in from Canada and that was the main reason I got the apartment in Fishers.

Would be helpful to see private school test scores. I realize most don't publish (for obvious reasons - they tend to be very bad.) National private school test results are meaningless, as the weaker private schools don't submit their test results for inclusion in national rankings. So the private school results are very skewed.

I believe it depends on the individual (student)they have to want to go to school and do all it takes to pass and get out of school,and the teachers have to do the best in teaching and helping the students.parents need to be involved in our schools.I don't think the rating of a school counts.I do think that teacher's are under paid.I believe the states see the problems but they really don't won't to solve the problems,they are making it worser and passing the buck.the states know how to fix the school system but they just don't care.the school system needs to hear and listen at the parents and take most of our advice as parents.

Well, I personally don't like the 4 star rating that a large number of post will help a poor school yield if some bogus 5 star ratings are presented - however, thats the system we live in such as our national voting systems. ;)

I like seeing the "1" rating on the school attended 25 years ago... My kids currently go to this school. I am in the public attempting to gain more parental involvment. 99% of the time I hear - its a delta school... this is silly, a school is limited to the types of tools and abilities it has under state and federal funding. lack of funding yields poor teachers, poor teachers(lower certificated staff) helps yield poor students and its a melting pot for change - if the community will help and parents will get involved.


I think the information helps. Just wish states would use the info to see where the problem areas are.

I am living in Fl. wish I can help you.

I'll be honest...a visit to the school will probably tell you more than any single "numeric" score on a website. While a "3" isn't very high, your 4-year-old isn't going to be taking those types of state tests for several years, so if you like the school for other reasons, let your son start there, and then see what happens. It will give you more time to investigate other options, or get more information about what they're doing to improve their school performance...

I am a new dad and need help in choosing a school for my 4 year old son, we live in Michigan, Sterling Heights and I was looking into one specific charter school (Huron Academy) that I like due to the positive parents reviews but what concerns me is the Great School Rating which is 3 only...should I be concerned about this school?

Please advise
salemnano@yahoo.com

I would like to know any comments about Sunset Park Elementary,in the 535 on Windermere. I know it's new as less than a year or it has only one year old, when is it going to be rated A or B I am moving to Winderemere and my son would start on kindergarden here ...i want to know something!

Thank you I appreciate your kind words. I try to always have a positive attitude towards kids and let them know that they are not alone, and they will achieve. I am a firm believer that all children can learn

This is good advice, and I see that you care and understand about your child needs. It takes good parents like you to detect this in your child. I wish more parents would see whats going on and get involve in their childs school.

I believe that it is the parents instinct that should determine what school is right for their children. My son when he was in third grade had alot of trouble keeping up in school. Where it was not so much of a behavioral problem, it was my little guy was burned out in third grade. Of course I tried to talk to the teachers and guidence but all they wanted to do was leave him back. I could not accept this because I felt something else was wrong. So I took him out of third grade and I home schooled him for 3 years. During this process I realized he had severe dyslexia. This school had great test scores.
But they could not see that my son was burned out. This is why I believe that you the parent are the ones that know what your child needs. Remember that you were the first teacher for your child. So my son is now in 10th grade, and he is doing alot better. It took observation and patience on my part to know what he needed. regardless of the test scores of your school your child can still thrive as long as you are on the same page with the school and your child.
Be encouraged

I agree, you made a statement it starts at home with the parents, teaching their own children the right way, how to act in a classroom, respect teachers, control their attitude. Then good teachers can teach.

You go girl, I respect and agree with everything you are saying here lisaedit.

Everything you have said is true. I never sent my children to a catholic or any church school, but I always wanted them to go to one. The public schools need help bad. and you would think the leaders in the school board would do something about it. I believe something can be done, and it has to start with our leaders, like the Gov. Teachers do more trying to keep their class under control because they can't teach. I say get all the bad kids that don't won't to learn put them into a school all by themselves so our good students can learn and be successful in life. I believe a church school is better for our children. The values and good standards are good for our children. I believe your daughter is going to make it through this year, just keep being their for her when she needs you, I know you will. we need more parents like you.

All catholic schools are different. In our catholic school the students work in a Christian atmosphere and are academically challenged. I have a son in catholic school and my daughter attends kindergarten at a public school and I cannot wait for this school year to be over so she can attend catholic school with her brother in Sept. My daughter doesn't care for the public school she is presently attending and she is excited to be attending catholic school next year. Unfortunately for me, in our public school system their are so many children with behavioral issues that the teachers have to concentrate on and it takes away from the other children in the class. I agree with you, there are issues in a catholic school but not as much as in a public school environment. Our catholic school is very small (one class per grade). It's like a family!

No, it's not better, and I agree with you, sdeleon444. I also think test scores does not determine a school.

My son has attended public, private, and parochial schools. He is currently a Senior at a Catholic High School, and their "ACT college test scores" are consistently higher than the nearby Blue-Ribbon award-winning public high school, which is supposedly one of the best in my state. His high school doesn't sacrifice academics for religion, but instead "weaves" good ethics and morals into all that they teach and do. (My son also happens to have ADHD and dyslexia, and even without having a "formal IEP" to force them into providing accommodations, they consider his individual needs. For example, they waived a prerequisite class requirement for him to enroll in an AP Physics course, because science is a strength for him, even if he's dyslexic and has difficulty with spelling.) I couldn't be more pleased with his school.

Oh yeah I know it was almost like college tuition for this school...And don't get me wrong I think learning religion in the Catholic School is good, but......... not when it is more of a priority over the basic academics....

Wow! When I went to Catholic school, their academic standards were way above the public schools. I switched to public school in 9th grade and basically coasted through high school.

I think learning religion at school is a great way for kids to really live their beliefs. That said, I couldn't afford it for my own children and I see it is less matter-of-fact for them than it was for me. It doesn't come automatically.

My daughter went to catholic school for 6 years......I am catholic myself and go to church....But I feel that a child should learn all the academics then learn more about religion.... Learning about religion should take place at the home or on Sunday.....I pulled her out due to that reason they were teaching more about religion then the other studies.....Again Catholic Schools have the same issues as any other school......

I think that sounds alittle RACIST........Because it is mainly WHITE and in the COUNTRY and GOOD NATURED, does that make it better then any other school????????????????????

No test scores do not enter in my decision. I send my children to Catholic school. I like the small enviornment our school has to offer. I also like that we all believe and celebrate the same religious holiday.

No test scores do not enter in my decision. I send my children to Catholic school. I like the small enviornment our school has to offer. I also like that we all believe and celebrate the same religious holiday.

No test scores do not enter in my decision. I send my children to Catholic school. I like the small enviornment our school has to offer. I also like that we all believe and celebrate the same religious holiday.

No test scores do not enter in my decision. I send my children to Catholic school. I like the small enviornment our school has to offer. I also like that we all believe and celebrate the same religious holiday.

What I don`t care is if someone makes money on my child testing.
Let them do it. Because it would not change the way they spend it anyway, and taxes would not be lower either.
Children need books, which they don`t have enough of currently and materials of all sorts. Let them make more books and more testing, let children learn more and yes, let that spend my taxes on education either it is testing or rasing bonus pay for teachers. I am all for it.
Everyone make money in this country, so let it be testing, books, education, descovering special need. Do I care if one corporation or person makes millions of it?? No because it will not be making my child less or more.

I can vouch for this. My originally review was rejected, but when I resubmitted it when I heard of their policy change, it went through, unedited. Thanks GS!

I have to say, I have used to locate schools in west Valley Arizona to find the subdivision to live in based on this site ratings. I have also visited schools after discovering them here...I have to say it is great tool when you have noone to rely on to find the best for your children, not to mention, when I found the schools I found the best community living ever Like Verrado or Estrella Mountain Ranch.
I do strongly believe, that scores and testing do matter, after all education overall in US very low comparing to the global standarts. No country in Europe has schools only 5 days a week, all 6 days. I fill standards and education behind in US and, that is why when schools has higher score it is important. If you want your children to be worth something they and you need to work as well as school.
I highly recommend looking at scores of school performence.
I West VAlley teacher get bonus, if students do well-what a great way to make sure your children know more and tichers get better pay.
I don`t believe, that education is just for fun, I think it is hard work, like anything else in life, so my children don`t work as hard, there would be fewer benefits in life.

Test scores do not reveal the whole story. My children attend a school that didn't meet its ayp. But I wouldn't trade this school for anything. I know of a parent who relocated to the school district they did from out of state because of what the 'test scores' revealed 'online'. Well, they had a miserable time and now they are homeschooling. My children's school has a large amount of learning disabled kids (attending there because the best and most caring and capable teachers are there). The school also has many ESL students. NCLB doesn't care about that. NCLB has a very unreasonable goal to get every child on the same level. That's like having the government forcing parents to have their child potty trained by age 3. Children with learning disabilities have a different time table. SO, don't judge a book by its cover. To me, find out what the teacher turnover rate is, get to know the staff. When you need to visit the school office, do you get a warm fuzzy feeling? If not, you might not be happy. Do they test to death at the price of plowing down the weak? If you have children with disbilities, find other parents or support groups that can help you with where they are happy.

You want to know about Axtell? Its mainly white, country, and good natured

We are in the process of revising our guidelines for parent reviews and we are no longer editing ones we accept for publishing. (We'll either accept "as is" or reject and tell you why we have rejected the review. We try very hard to be fair in what we post, and we do accept both positive and negative reviews but the negative reviews must be respectful in tone and not defamatory for us to post them.

I agree.

Amen to that. (comment by anonymous)

Due to my husband's job, we travel a lot. I've had to choose a school for our kids based on where we live... in places I've never been. So far, what I've experienced, schools that look good on paper aren't always the best as far as general friendliness and teacher/staff enthusiasm goes. The school our kids currently go to has MANY nationalities (we live in a remote university town) the school is "older" by today's standards. Many children are learning english as a second language. This is not holding my kids back whatsoever, my kids love meeting the kids from other countries, they come home telling me about it almost daily and enjoy learning words in many languages. To me, they are attending a school that represents our world. I've found that when you choose a school based only on test scores, location (seems many want upper/mid-class suburbs) and how much money it has, you get schools that teach for the test and almost no diversity (which to me leads to socio-economic teasing/singling out); If that's what's important to you...it is what it is. I've not been happy with the competetiveness & attitude of "a good school" the kids and parents all seem the same: spoiled and snooty. That's not the world I want to live in and it's not what I want for my kids. I know there are always exceptions, but I've learned there is a pattern in certain demographics too.

I have to say test scores did influence my decision, even though I had former teacher friends tell me they were nonsense. To some degree I think they are right, but the lower scores are often attributable to something, and you have to look at those factors. I actually got a better vibe from our local elementary school, even though it has a much higher percentage of english learners and they bus in hispanic kids from across town. I saw a lot more student enthusiasm at the open house. But the moms in my neighborhood had all managed to get their kids in the magnet elementary across town, where the demographic skews differently and is overall more affluent plus you have a dedicated GATE program (my kid is NOT in GATE -- who needs that pressure?) The API is about 100 pts. higher. Needless to say, I put my kid there. I do like the super-involved parents and the extracurricular activities, but I don't necessarily like the teachers or the administration or the PTO. They're just so impressed with themselves. They got the Blue Ribbon award this year and they just can't shut up about it!!!!! Many of us parents feel the same way. My son would probably do just fine in our local school but I worried that my sons instruction time would be hampered by the poor teacher spending all her time helping the English learner kids. Honestly, that's the factor that sent me outside my local elementary school, much more than API.

What can i do to help her get into BLA

my daughter took the BLA test got a b- didn't get in why?

We have the most wonderful school, but it is "currently" only rated a 6 by GS; it is because our test scores are not as high as some in our area.

The test scores are getting better for each new class coming up, which tells me we are doing something right. However, I believe more analysis could be done on a school's testing, that would be more useful.

The rating seems to focus only on schools at or above proficient, while many children score on the high end of the basic, and just a few point shy of proficient. I belived in addition to measuring how many are proficient and above, the rating should consider how many are "below basic". In our school this is very few.

My oldest child was in 3rd grade last year, and her class tested significantly above the state average, while the 4th and 5th grade classes struggled more.

What the test scores don't measure is the non-quantifiable aspects. Our average teacher tenure is 15 years, we have many teachers with 20 or more years in this same elementary school, the cooperation amoung parents, staff, and administration is second to none. My children are happy and secure, and they are receiving a quality education.

I am going to get 10 - 20 families to write reviews that tell the world what a great place our school is to send your children.

I appreciate great schools; it was through a google search on ratings I stumbled across this web site and community forum. I am a newbie, but I love education and love receiving and giving information about education.

My children are bright and have no learning disabilities. But I am much better equipped to recognize issues, and can refer friends to this site or share with them the need to have their child tested if they have any doubt about the child's progress or abilites.

I agree that it's a yes and no answer.
I look at the GS rating, which is based on the test scores and other information. After picking the best schools, I then look at the parent reviews within each school. You'd be surprised how many 9s and 10s have quite a few negative comments from parents. My daughter's school is one of them. I think they're now rated a 8 and lots of parents have issues with that school, and many more who don't visit GS.
So, you have to look at both the school test scores which the GS rating reflects as well as the parent reviews and then, visit the school, talk to them, observe if possible, and take a tour.

I do believe that a school grade can help the parents determine is this the right school for my child. But the grade shouldn't be the only thing to go by. A good thing is getting parent suggestions on schools.I know that the help of other moms has helped me decide on what schools would be best for my kids.

These are all great comments. The main thing is to take all the information into consideration when choosing a school. You wouldn't want to just judge a school by its test scores, but the rating is one piece of information to weigh into your decision. Just because a school has great test scores doesn't necessarily mean it's a great school but it would tell me that the school is probably pointed in the right direction. If the GreatSchools Rating and the parent reviews don't agree, that would be a flag for me to investigate more deeply. If you have a child with special needs, you'll want to find out more than the information and stats that we have on our site. What's the quality of the special ed program? What kind of attention do children with special needs get? How are IEPs handled? The GreatSchools Rating is simply designed to give you a quick snapshot, not the complete picture.

I like that, everything you said.......My daughter went to a Catholic school from Pre-School all the way to 5th, I put her in a Charter School which ranked top 10, She is now in 7th, smart girl but now her school is closing due to the testing.......Principal is new promised the world, teachers been great but......Is it about the testing or should we just get these kids some education to make it to graduation...Very confusing question????????It may go either way, good or bad.....

Yes and no to this question. I've read quite a few of the answers on this question. I still have the same question going through my head. In the past two years I used GS's when I moved to N.C. It may have helped me choose a good school but WOW! They pushed the testing - (I had a lst grader then) the teachers not great (some major issues there!!) and principal was new and seemed like he was trying to fix alot from the past. Then last year GS's helped me when we moved to O.H. My daughter is in 2nd grade now and WOW what a school. Its a small town school and the program is Great! The teacher's and princpal seem to have the focus on the kids and education. It is a wonderful school. But you worry if your making the right decsion for your child. Here we are now looking to move back home to TN/KY next year, maybe. So I've been lucky in one and unlucky in the other. I guess here is where my question lays....

What if the test scores show the school to be a GS 4 but then you read parent/student reviews about that particular school and every one (there were about 11) is positive about the program, teachers, principal and staff? How do then determine if this school really would be a good program for you child? Thank You

Last thing, out district usually doesnt like the kids in spec ed to take the tests that make the scores, so the scores dont mean crap!

Absolutely NOT!, Why.....

Beucase based upon my own experience, GS edit's and modified my review on out school.

A review is one persons thoughts, if they editied mine and it was not bad in a sense i didnt say the school sucked, i gave first hand knowledge and experiences, then you know they did the same to others.

So if I said, this school is great, the teachers are great, then that would have gotten through, but becuase i said, the teachers knowledge of LD"S is minimial, that was left out.

GS said, that they could not verify that, It's my review, hello....thoughts!

And by the way...it is from personally speaking with several teachers, RSP included, that they all said first hand they lack spec ed knowledge.

I could go on, but it wont matter, GS will most likely edit it anyhow.

My husband and I could not have put it in better words! Thank You!

STANDARDIZED TESTING under No Child Left Behind is a DISASTER!

No Child Left Behind is a give a way program for corporations and should be abolished. We the People should follow the No Child Left Behind money trail. The great secret is that those that are pushing for more standardized testing and accountability are those that make a lot of money by producing tests, books, data bases, test grading programs and test preparaton materials. The students are already tested by the teachers and the districts, so more testing is superfluous. As a parent, it is the teachers opinion I trust, not a government buracrat or corporate investor.

Frankly, I don't care to know if the school meets it's API, AYP or any other facist top down measures of my childs intellectual and emotional growth. The Federal government is the worst authority to analyze the test data and make a determination about my child and their local school. The Federal government is a giant, ineffcient, buracracy, so they can not be the best judges of my child's or my neighborhood school's performance. The parents, teachers, students, administators and local community members should be the educational authority that makes judgements about local schools and students.

Local public schools do educate the masses and are accountable to the people. The people just have to make a effort to monitor the schools. In my case, I make an effort to know my children's teachers and administrators. If I have a problem with the school or teacher, I have found that they have always been willing to talk and work out a solution for my child, as a individual

I believe that if the people know how their hard earned tax money is spent by No Child Left Behind ie., meanless data, buracratic programs, unfunded mandates and silly test prep materials... the people would have a revolution.

I find the fact that you being a teacher & having the comments you displayed here says alot about your character. Your attitude is part of the problem with children with disabilities. The fact that there are children with poor economic conditions are not the children's problem & in this day and age not the parents--things happen. This is what I referring to when I mentioned how teachers respond--they want your involvemnet in the PTO funds & fund raisers & volunteering for the teachers to have a pupil free lunch day but you get very defensive when a prent speaks the truth on a subject that you may not like--you should be open to all views--our common goal here should be the children's education--do whatever it takes. No, they shouldn't close a school for low test scores--they need to have a team go in that school & watch what is going on in those classrooms & resolve the issue but it takes listening to the problem & not being defensive & close-minded about it. Your behavior in your remarks makes you look bad as a teacher.

To the parent that feels that the school is being brought down by low achievers & that those low achievers are children that have social issues was an entirely inappropriate thing to say. I hope you don't have to experience a child w/learning diabilities--they want to excel & it isn't their fault if they cannot. Schools do need to find ways to accomodate those with needs--they are the next generation & it will affect everyone because these children grow into adults that will be the ones running things when we're old. These children have it hard enough without people that are not educated on the subject to judge them that way. I encourage you to read up on things like ADD/ADHD & learning disabilities before you say such things. I would respond leaving my identity but I am using my work e-mail right now & mine at home is broke and I work in the media industry so I don't want to devulge that.

First of all......I didn't put ANONYMOUS, and yes if I have something to say I am not AFRAID to say....I am a teacher as well and I have students that are above and beyond as well as students with disabilities! All I am saying these kids need to have a good home life.....A school with a STRONG principal, with a STRONG staff, with a STRONG foundation.......Keep it fun while learning, go to school, work with a positive attitude....I have a daughter as well who struggles, but is it her fault the right teachers are not in the school, maybe lower income children are her schoolmates.....It shouldn't matter they are all EQUAL!!!!!!!!They all need an education and because some rate higher then others where does the problem start?????????????It is not fair to have to close a school because of test scores.

The high stakes tests are not assessing the amount of information retained, does not evaluate students ability to use the information, and does not diagnose students ability to know when they should use knowledge learned.
Children with mental illness or learning disabilities are not barred from the exams and this affects the pass/fail percentages schools receive.
The tests are not a good measure of the quality of education students receive or how great a school is.
Look at the extracurricular activities, check for presence of supplemental learning activities, see if remediation is stigmatized or nicely hidden as a good activity, look at accessibility to /lab/library resources, ..in all, look at what does the school do to help a student function socially and what does the school do to help a student academically?
Most of all make sure teachers are there year after year.. if they don't enjoy the school neither will the students..stability and positive environments matter most!

I generally don't respond to Anonymous posts, because people who truly believe what they say aren't afraid to give their identity. Your comment about every "good" school has low achievers because those kids have social issues is completely MISLEADING. There may be a few kids for whom that is true, but I would bet you that many more kids who appear to be "underachieving" may have learning disabilities. I want to be sure you know that having a learning disability does NOT mean the kids are "stupid" or "dumb," and in fact they can have exceptionally high IQ's, they just "learn differently" and need to be "taught differently" than many schools do.

(For example, my son's IQ is in the 99.9 percentile, but he learns best when engaged in hands-on activity. Instructors who simply lecture, and don't use multisensory means/visual aids/interactive discussion/labs are not able to teach him effectively, and I KNOW there are many more students like him, who WANT to learn, but can't learn when the teachers aren't doing good jobs.)

Seems like our schools have a lot in common! My child is currently @ Rayma C. Page and it's a mess also. I'm going to try to move my child to another school but it's so hard.

NOPE: My local HS is a disaster. We have had poor leadership. Staff turnover is high. Stress is through the roof. The curriculum is not balanced or necessarily appropriate. But this HS regularly scores in the top percentile nationally for everything. Why? Because our town culturally is very focused on education. Parents will do anything to help their child achieve. Some first generation families even send their kid to summer school do to Biology or Chemistry so they have a leg up when they take the AP course that fall. There are some good teachers at our HS but the school is outright dysfunctional right now.

Test scores are but one small element of what makes a school a good school.

Yes send your child to a good school with high test score but......A well behaved child a good child a smart child comes from home first then blossoms out to the school where the teachers should be teaching....There are kids that want to learn and the kids who don't well then that is the parents FAULT. The teacher should continue teaching the kids who are willing to learn....You need a strong Principal to have a strong staff to have a strong foundation to make kids strong themselves.....

Great test scores are more of a measure of student ability and effort than the measure of a great school. There are many highly qualified teachers in so called failing schools. These schools are not failing because the teachers are not doing a good job. They fail because students are uncooperative, lack a strong social upbringing...etc.

On the other hand, parents should want to send their kids to a school that has strong test scores because that child will be positively influenced by other kids that intend on doing well. However, every "good" school has low achievers because those kids have social issues that preclude them from making school achievement a priority.

Test scores do matter...Although I believe it comes from the parents first, It is sad that this has to happen the only thing the school board is doing is hurting these kids! Then they will wonder in 5 years why so many kids are dropping out, having to change schools often..

The test scores are pretty great in our school, but, it is because our special ed. children don't get counted in the public profile. As a parent of a child with special needs, I know how large of a gap exists between my child and the scores of other children. The school doesn't care about closing the gap on the less than 1% of the school population.

Now the government possibly wants to make that into 2% of the school population that they wouldn't have to count... Scary if you ask me.

No. In my area, it's pretty obvious that schools with the highest test score ratings are the ones that don't have a large "multilingual" population. If I have a child with special needs, the scores tell me nothing. A good quality school is dependent on far more than a state test score. In fact, given that nationally-normed test scores aren't utilized, it may be that the curriculum in one state is much harder than that in another, so a "10" rating in state with "easy" testing is actually WORSE than an "8" in a state with tougher testing. Here's a site that shows State NCLB testing comparisons to NEAP: www.time.com/nochild

Absolutely not.

There were very few comments on each of the schools my daughters have attended. I could pretty much guess who had written some of them. Our schools are in an older suburb with a very diverse population group. There are also a number of magnet programs. The school situations are very complicated. What's good for the goose may be rotten for the gander. And if it's only geese who bother to respond, you won't get a true idea. On the other hand, if you are a goose too, it might be pretty true.

One of the comments rhapsodized over the wonderful principal. He was actually quite controversial and was reassigned the summer after the comment was written.

Standardized test scores for our schools would also be misleading because of the vast disparities in the children who attend. Our local schools usually look quite bad when the test scores are averaged out, but some children are extraordinary achievers.

Unfortunately we have some extraordinarily low achievers as well. For example, there is a large group foster care center in our attendance area. The children who attend our schools may only be there 3 months. Many don't attend our schools at all because of their traumatic situations. Yet they are mandated to take the state tests and their scores are folded into the local attendance area school.

Nothing substitutes for some good chats with neighbors who have kids at the school. I also recommend that parent meet with the principal and tour the school while it is in session.

at first it did but then I learned there are more reasons why a school could of gotten its good or bad grade. If you live in an area where both parents work, single family ect the parents are not as available to help with school work or to make sure HW is done this may impact the school grade Or the school could have more special ed kids that are counted against the grade.

I also found that sometimes a school that has a high grade are so concerned with the grade that they teach to the standarized test or retain kids so they have another year to prepare them.

So although it does help steer you in the general direction on where you want to be I would interview the school and not let a grade steer you in that direction. There can be some fantastic teachers a lower grade school!

Not really. In my case, the information concerning the school were not complete enough (including information concerning sped), and there were not enough parents review, probably due to the fact that the district is relatively small.

However, I learned that some of the school claims concerning money spent on each child and ratio teacher/child being better than the state average, were wrong.

For me, yes they did. I recently moved from one state to another. Since I did not know the area's schools, greatschool was a huge help.