School Ratings Thread - Start One & Keep On Top? (Jersey: transplants, middle school)

[RainyRainyDay]

Test scores are not the only criterion of school quality, but that are one piece of information that people like to have. So I thought I'd post these links here for reference.

Georgia Public Policy Foundation - www.gppf.org

Atlanta News | Fulton Dominates Top 25 Schools in 2007 SAT Scores - Eight Fulton County schools were among the 25 Georgia schools with the highest overall SAT scores for 2007. | BroadcastAtlanta.com | High, ********, County***************, Fulton, Sc

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by Lemur2004

Rainy Day and Aries,

I moved to Fayetteville because of the schools, but I can't take the commute so I plan to put my house on sale next March--crummy market or not. I found a preschool that I love, so like a nutcase I drive from Fayetteville to Sandy Springs (where the preschool is) and then to work in mid-town.

Lemur, you are a madwoman! I mean, for doing all that driving. Hope you have good success selling your house, then you'll have lots of options. Maybe you can find a home near work and a school you like (private or public) and get a life outside of your car.

[Lemur2004]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

Lemur, you are a madwoman! I mean, for doing all that driving. Hope you have good success selling your house, then you'll have lots of options. Maybe you can find a home near work and a school you like (private or public) and get a life outside of your car.

Boy, you are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO right. The commute is KILLING ME!!That's why I'm stopping at one kid. If I had two I'd probably have a breakdown.

[bkmomof3]

I have skimmed through alot of posts, did the research on suggested school sites and housing areas and have come to the conclusion (correct me if I'm wrong) that all of the schools that are considered the "best" or "above average" are in very expensive/pricey neighborhoods. Now unless the average person can afford a 300k+ home where there are either upscale/ upper class blacks or predominently white schools and neighborhoods, where can I find a decent home, in a decent neighborhood with a good schools for the average middle class family? Or does my family have to be "well off" for my children to get a decent education? Looking to spend max of 180k and would prefer no more than 30-45 minutes out of Atlanta (will be working for Children's Hospital of Atlanta...Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! And I apologize in advance if I may have offended anyone

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by bkmomof3

I have skimmed through alot of posts, did the research on suggested school sites and housing areas and have come to the conclusion (correct me if I'm wrong) that all of the schools that are considered the "best" or "above average" are in very expensive/pricey neighborhoods. Now unless the average person can afford a 300k+ home where there are either upscale/ upper class blacks or predominently white schools and neighborhoods, where can I find a decent home, in a decent neighborhood with a good schools for the average middle class family? Or does my family have to be "well off" for my children to get a decent education? Looking to spend max of 180k and would prefer no more than 30-45 minutes out of Atlanta (will be working for Children's Hospital of Atlanta...Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! And I apologize in advance if I may have offended anyone

You can easily find a good school. You may have also learned on this site that many people (non-educators, uninformed) base "good schools" solely on test scores. This is dangerous and misleading.

It is important to look at many other factors besides test scores.

If you give more specific information on what kind of house/neighborhood you are looking for and exactly where in Metro Atlanta you will be working, I (and others) will be able to help you.

Don't worry, and good luck.

[SoBuKev]

bkmomof3,

I would like to second the thoughts of other posters who say not to focus too much on test scores.

Here's my take on test scores:

If you know a school has very high scores, then you can pretty much be certain that the overall income level of that neighborhood is very high. That's really the only conclusion you can make. It's possible that it's a better all-around school, but you can't come to that conclusion based purely on test scores.

Now, conversely, if you know a school has lower scores, you can't really deduce anything. It's possible that it's the best school in the state but located smack dab in the lowest income area of the state. It's also possible that it's a bad school, you just have no way of knowing other than going to visit, seeing yourself, and talking to other parents of students.

Tests have shown that test scores are more highly correlated to the income of the parent community, not the overall "quality" of the school.

[kaday]

bkmomof3

If you go back a few posts and look at Georgia Public Policy Foundation and how they rank schools you will see that Murdock elementary school in East Cobb has 8.2% of students at the poverty level and is ranked #3. This school has outstanding test scores, more diversity than the rest of East Cobb and has many more modestly priced homes. It would be a stretch but you can find a decent home in this area in your price range. It would be older but it would be a solid home in a great school district.

[dvcgal]

I agree that you cannot judge a school by test scores. What you need to do is drive around neighborhoods and areas that you like and talk to people with school-age children! I bought a home here in VA in one of the 'best' schools and we paid top dollar for our home. We have been in the school going on 4 years (elementary school) and are now looking to buy outside of our school district but within the same county. If you look online at our school's test scores, they are outstanding, but I can tell you that I personally know several 3rd graders who cannot tell you where they live or their birthdays. Many are still reading on a first grade level! I have found that word of mouth is the best way to locate a good school. And you can't just talk to one or two people, you have to network and really spend time talking and listening to what people have to say.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by dvcgal

I agree that you cannot judge a school by test scores. What you need to do is drive around neighborhoods and areas that you like and talk to people with school-age children! ... I have found that word of mouth is the best way to locate a good school. And you can't just talk to one or two people, you have to network and really spend time talking and listening to what people have to say.

This is probably good advice, but not always practical. I was moved to Atlanta as a corporate relocation in the wave of post-911 downsizing in the high tech industry. I had a choice of relocation or layoff. My family got a three-day "look and see" trip to Atlanta and subsequently husband and I got another three-day trip to find a place to live. I wish I'd known about forums like this one (if it existed in early 2002) - it would have helped a lot. However, our visits hardly allowed for getting much word-of-mouth advice. In fact, the only such advice I got was from the wife of the senior executive at my company's Atlanta (Sandy Springs) office. She said that anywhere in East Cobb would have good schools and be a reasonable commute. We went with her advice, and it was true. So I support you on word-of-mouth being the best, but I really feel for others in a corporate relocation situation like I was.

If I could go back to 2002, I'd probably want to look for housing ITP. We're very happy with the East Cobb schools, but we don't feel at home in the community. Everyone is SO conservative and Republican. But nobody warned us about that.

[kaday]

We had 5 days to find a house and my spouse had thrown out his back...I was on my own. These boards helped a lot as most people had recommended East Cobb before I had even set foot in GA . I did scrutinize test scores pretty thoroughly beforehand! Our relos happen so fast I keep tabs on all the areas we may eventually end up. Saves time and anguish!

I know test scores aren't always the best indicator for a school, but a lot of the time it is all you have. For the most part the scores have served us pretty well.


It is a little less conservative in my neck of the woods as everyone in my neighborhood is from somewhere else!