School Ratings Thread - Start One & Keep On Top? (Atlanta: 2010, school districts)

[aries4118]

A helpful link/article....

51 Georgia schools among nation's best | ajc.com

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by aries4118

A helpful link/article....

51 Georgia schools among nation's best | ajc.com

Huh. My former high school in the Twin Cities is only #1120. That sucks.

Of course, even Newsweek itself presents dissenting opinions as to the overall usefulness and meaning of these AP-test-based rankings:

Best High Schools: The Reaction | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com

[aries4118]

I hate rankings...and rankings of schools don't mean a thing. And I think realtors/real-estate agents are the ambassadors of evil.
However, these tables are interesting for data purposes (population demographics for areas of Metro Atlanta)...for us "data/number/percentage/map" nerds...

http://www.ostenson.com/files/HighSchools-Metro.pdf

http://www.ostenson.com/files/Elemen...ools-Metro.pdf


I think information like this can be useful to school systems...to see trends...in order to stave off white flight, etc.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Huh. My former high school in the Twin Cities is only #1120. That sucks.

Of course, even Newsweek itself presents dissenting opinions as to the overall usefulness and meaning of these AP-test-based rankings:

Best High Schools: The Reaction | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com

Yep.

[frances125]

This Newsweek stuff is ridiculous propaganda designed to encourage schools to water down AP classes and stuff every breathing body into them. All that they look at is how many kids are crammed into AP/IB not how well taught they are. So a school could cram every single kid into AP/IB classes and be the number one school on the list. Then, when you looked behind that ranking you would see that the vast majority of kids scored a 1 or 2.

I will pay attention to this ranking when it actually takes into account the quality of the classes taught and the scores earned. Until it includes that, it is nothing but an attempt at social engineering.

[Hotlanta2]

Originally Posted by staroip

This site has couple links regarding Atlanta public schools.

Best Atlanta Schools

After reading 18 pages, the link you provided gave the best and most basic info to use to compare. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Hotlanta2]

Originally Posted by Hotlanta2

After reading 18 pages, the link you provided gave the best and most basic info to use to compare. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I would also like to mention that another indicator of good schools is the % of students that go on to 2 & 4 year universities.
On a side note; both of my children were IBer's at their high schools (in Scottsdale, AZ) and they absolutely LOVED being in the program.
I would highly recommend going into the IB program if you qualify because it puts much more of an international "spin" on the subjects. Also, the students are actively engaged in discussions concerning what they are studying, especially about current events. It's much more hands-on than regular class.

[lizzzie]

i can recommend "horizons school" especially for creative people. the building might look a little bit shabby but the idea behind the school is very sweet and your child will definitely develope in a great way. students that need more attention will get what they need- students with special skills can show their best and get challenged. i take care of the students before school starts and was able to see that an unbelievebal hyper young 5 year old boy- that didnt get any chance in a regular elementary school started to change into the "favourite" of everyone. he learned to put his energy into gymnastics and dancing and suprises us now with his wonderful, entertaining skills.
i am in touch with many of the students at this school and must say i am really surprised that there is a place nowadays where "love" and "caring" is still important. A place where no violence exists- everyone feels safe and happy. I am also very imprest of the international prgram they offer. Even though the school is really small- (I believe there are just 80 Students in High School and about 30 in Elementary + Middle school) - there are students from all over the world, true the motto "learn from different cultures". Its kinda like a big family. Very democratic school- students and teacher decide together about changes at school.

[aries4118]

A helpful link for many (for those living in or interested in Cobb County):

http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/centraloff...hool_Types.pdf

[lidlfeet]

Many, many helpful posts in this thread! We are relocating next summer and need middle school/neighborhood recommendations. But my head is spinning because I know nothing about the area and I'm having a difficult time pinpointing locations reading through the posts.

If this helps:
- my husband's job will be in Norcross, I work from home
- our daughter (youngest) will be entering 7th grade, good student but very into sports
- we'd like a neighborhood where kids play outside and interact with each other

Thanks for any help you can provide!