http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools Could you explain the difference in rating schools? E.g., Sunny Hills HS in Fullerton, CA has a higher rating than Marshall Fundamental in Pasadena, CA with Great Schools, but according to Newsweek's 2008 Complete List of the 1,300 top U.S. High Schools Marshall ranks 157 while Sunny Hills came in at 262. GreatSchools en-us healthy11 Just wondering; thanks for clarifying. http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=1#comment_424496 5100.424496 Tue, 12 May 2009 17:48:20 -0700 tjlove I'll answer for enewton- Yes, he is a GreatSchools employee and is part of our Data Team. He doesn't have a badge because, if you look at his profile, this ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=1#comment_424076 5100.424076 Tue, 12 May 2009 10:51:45 -0700 healthy11 enewton, are you a Greatschools employee? (If so, why is your GS encircled logo missing from next to your name?) http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=1#comment_423724 5100.423724 Tue, 12 May 2009 05:46:43 -0700 enewton Comparing GS Ratings to Newsweek rankings is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. The GS Rating is like a school receiving a grade of 1-10, while ranking lists the ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=1#comment_423449 5100.423449 Mon, 11 May 2009 16:10:20 -0700 kjdmom Think about how much better shape our entire country would be in today if we all took the time to collect all the information necessary to make a truly informed ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=1#comment_423289 5100.423289 Mon, 11 May 2009 12:29:18 -0700 llee814 I think healthy11 hits the nail on the head that informed decisions shouldn't be based on a single number or comment... I've had experience sending children to both a "desirable" ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=2#comment_423241 5100.423241 Mon, 11 May 2009 11:51:06 -0700 kjdmom I would hope most parents would not be that narrow-minded either - I just think it is really sad that people from out of state might kick a district out ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=2#comment_423199 5100.423199 Mon, 11 May 2009 11:13:39 -0700 healthy11 kjdmom, I agree completely. I know that neither test scores nor a limited number of "parent" (or student) reviews can give an accurate assessment of any school. From year to ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=2#comment_423155 5100.423155 Mon, 11 May 2009 10:32:50 -0700 kjdmom I didn't say that parent reviews should be the only criteria either. I'm just saying that there is a lot more to schools than test scores. I grew up in ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=2#comment_423135 5100.423135 Mon, 11 May 2009 10:14:51 -0700 healthy11 kjdmom, unfortunately, you can't always trust that "parent ratings" are actually made by parents, or that they're representative of everyone's opinions: http://community.greatschools.net/groups/11530/discussion/388450 http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=2#comment_420464 5100.420464 Wed, 06 May 2009 14:58:24 -0700 kjdmom While I understand that test scores would be the only possible way to rate schools before people review schools, I think Greatschools needs to look at more once feedback has ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=3#comment_420340 5100.420340 Wed, 06 May 2009 12:43:17 -0700 healthy11 The discussion listed below may explain Greatschools rating system better (It's based solely on students' performance according to the most recently released NCLB state testing results) Although the poster was ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/420166/Confusion-about-rating-schools?cpage=3#comment_420308 5100.420308 Wed, 06 May 2009 12:15:43 -0700