Help in choosing ES.The rating that I see in greatschools.net, Is it based on the childrens test score?

The rating that I see in great schools.net, Is it based on the childrens test score? I am considering to shift to a new apartment in order to be in the preferred boundary. Is it really worth it? Take for instance, Providence and Greenbriar West. The former has 4 and the latter has 9. The former claims to be a Focus School. Should that make me to consider Providence inspite of its low rating.

Parent Answers to "Help in choosing ES.The rating that I see in greatschools.net, Is it based on the childrens test score?"

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Our school rated a 6. It is a fabulously nurturing elementary school full of experienced and wise teachers. I can only guess that the scores are not higher due to the number of children for whom english is a second language which is a disadvantage on standardized tests. By the standards of each child being loved an reaching their full potential I;d rate the school a 10.

A friend moving into the area chose another neighborhood solely because it had a score of 9. Her son's teacher was a rookie who really struggled. She was disappointed!

Welcome, anonymous! The GreatSchools Ratings you see here on the site are based on test scores, and test scores only.

When you're looking at schools, it can be helpful to use the test scores as a guide, but not as a rule. Definitely take some time to figure out your child's strengths and weaknesses, and look at what the school can offer to support your child. For example, does your child need extra reading help? What classes are available to help build his reading skills? Does your child thrive in smaller classes or larger ones? All of these "extras" can make a huge impact on your child's success in school, so it's not just about how the school performs on tests.

You may have seen this already, but we have a page here on the site tdevoted to helping you through the process of figuring out what your child's learning needs and how to evaluate schools to find the best one:

www.greatschools.net/content/schoolChoiceCenter.page

Hi. Unfortunately, Greatschools is a nationwide forum, and we are from across the U.S. ~ The chance of finding another person from the same town, with a child at a particular school, is slim.
We don't have "focus" schools in my area...Before moving, I suggest visiting the schools you're considering, and ask the administrators about their test scores, and what their focus is. (Perhaps one school "focuses" on music and drama, but another "focuses" on math and science, or language arts. Chances are a school with a focus on fine arts may not have students score as highly on state testing, since state tests don't usually cover those topics.)
In any case, especially at the elementary level, you're going to want your child to get a good foundation in all the basic academic areas, so definitely find out what "focus" means to them.

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