lamolina Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 We are getting ready to move back to the US after having lived in South America. At this point I would prefer not to have to use a high school, but want to live in an area with a good one, just in case. But the ratings I see don't seem to mean a lot. Some are rated off test scores, what else? I can look at one website that rates a school poorly, and another site rates it well. Who to believe? Any input or thoughts on this? Suggestions for what to look for? Even if we never use it!? thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Some sites just go off of user reviews by parents. That brings up the same issues as Yelp and Amazon reviews, where the reviews may not accurately reflect the consensus of actual users (since only the folks who are most pro or con are likely to bother writing a review). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 If you are looking at public schools, there's usually a state website with aggregate test score information. While it's not a very reliable indicator, sometimes the test scores may be mildly useful in comparison to other schools in the same state, particularly if there are really large differences in percentages of students scoring proficient/advanced (at least that's how they're reported in my state). Overall fit concerns are more important to me than test scores. I don't trust the review websites either (greatschools and whatnot) though I'd still read through them. For example, for one school, there had been a lot of controversy and turnover within the administration, and the scads of negative reviews reflected much of what I had heard from a former parent who had been very involved there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamolina Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 If you are looking at public schools, there's usually a state website with aggregate test score information. While it's not a very reliable indicator, sometimes the test scores may be mildly useful in comparison to other schools in the same state, particularly if there are really large differences in percentages of students scoring proficient/advanced (at least that's how they're reported in my state). Overall fit concerns are more important to me than test scores. I don't trust the review websites either (greatschools and whatnot) though I'd still read through them. For example, for one school, there had been a lot of controversy and turnover within the administration, and the scads of negative reviews reflected much of what I had heard from a former parent who had been very involved there. The overall fit part is what I am wondering about. But how do you go about finding out which one "fits?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It just depends on who is doing the ranking and what they are ranking. It also seems to depend on the year and whether the planets line up vertically or horizontally. :rolleyes: Our local school was ranked #1 in this Metro area for several years. It then dropped but I can't for the life of me figure out why. They still have the same test scores, the same percentage headed towards college, and they even have an IB Program. The only thing I can think is that now there are all these "schools within a school" things. One school has a STEM school within the school and that ranks as a school by itself, even though I don't think it should. But that is one example of how I think rankings get skewed. It is now back up to #1 again apparently (just looked). Again, not sure why. Can you find "THE" right school for you? Probably not, until you have been in it a while. There is just no way to know that info until you are there. And if you have more than one child, it may be a good fit for one and not the others. Just as with everything else, you make the best choice you can make with the information given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I don't know about other areas, but our public school will not even permit a potential student to come in and shadow for a day, so trying to determine "fit" may be difficult. If you are comparing schools, I would not bother looking at the state test results. Instead, I would ask the following questions: 1. SAT/ACT scores 2. Number of National Merit Scholars each year 3. A list of where the recent graduates went to college 4. A couple years worth of College Board Summary Reports (These reports will tell you which AP exams were taken that year and provide the score distribution.) 5. At what grade level can students begin taking APs Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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