[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

And what are the fundamental differences between standardized test scores between states?

It is logical to assume that a school is ranked a 9 or 10 in Florida, chances are (very good chance) that it is better, or at least equal, to a school ranked 5, 6, or 7 in another state.



IMO (and admittedly, I'm not a parent.... yet), unless safety is an issue, or unless the schools are absolutely atrocious (because of student body), or unless the kids need a special program because of learning needs, parents spend WAAAAY too much time trying to find "the absolute best" schools. One of my best friends went to the prestigious Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. I went to public schools in Florida, in a county (St. Lucie) that has working class demographics.

My friend has not achieved more professionally in adulthood, even though he attended an obviously better school, his SAT scores were not better, and he did not get into any school that I couldn't have also gotten into.

It's not based off of just standardized tests, but by tests administered by the Board of Regents in each state. Here's an example from the district I went to school in here in NY:
Test Scores for Westhill Central School District | GreatSchools

I agree about people getting caught up with finding the perfect school, as it depends on many factors. With that said, what may give FL a bad Rep in that regard is the graduation rate. HigherEdInfo.org: Public High School Graduation Rates

Those are the most recent I could find.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Those are the most recent I could find.

Gotta love a less than 60% graduation rate..

[Swimmom32]

I will find the statistics but they Just put out the graduation rates for Palm Beach County and where we live the schools had 96% graduation Rates....and again these kids were attending some of the best colleges...

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Swimmom32

I will find the statistics but they Just put out the graduation rates for Palm Beach County and where we live the schools had 96% graduation Rates....and again these kids were attending some of the best colleges...

I'm sure that it varies, just like any other state, but I think the overall rate is why some may think the way they think about FL schools. I think for NY the current rate is just above the national average at 71% or so(I believe the national average is around 68-69%). For the school I went to, getting below 90% would be rare. So, I understand and it was a district that is considered to be largely upper middle class, eventhough you can find homes for under 100k in the district.

It seems like the smaller Midwestern and Northeastern states have higher rates, but they tend to be more homogeneous in terms of demographics too.

[Jo48]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

I'm sure that it varies, just like any other state, but I think the overall rate is why some may think the way they think about FL schools. I think for NY the current rate is just above the national average at 71% or so(I believe the national average is around 68-69%). For the school I went to, getting below 90% would be rare. So, I understand and it was a district that is considered to be largely upper middle class, eventhough you can find homes for under 100k in the district.

It seems like the smaller Midwestern and Northeastern states have higher rates, but they tend to be more homogeneous in terms of demographics too.

Given that rate includes some very bad NYC schools and that the more difficult subjects Regents diploma is now the only diploma for graduation, that 71% isn't all that bad. It hasn't been all that long since the "local" diploma has been eliminated.

To make a comparison, the FCATS are not subject state tests, although Florida was looking at changing them to be so.

[Swimmom32]

Exactly from both posters...The school I grew up in Brooklyn well the stats are awful because it has changed so much because of the Demographics....I compared the graduation rate from where we lived in NJ and we are about the same as where we moved from....and your so right it does depend where in the state you live in and for us my children are getting a very good education and DH and I have been very pleased..

Happy New Year to all!!

[Jo48]

Location, location, location, as they say in real estate. I have worked in Naples schools where you can go from a National Blue Ribbon school to a Title 1 "D" rated school. It really depends on the demographics of the "neighborhood". Very weatlhy areas are going to have better schools than very poor area schools because you simply cannot separate the home life of the students from their academic life. It is the so called "middle" where there are more variances. It is unfornuate but very true, and it will apply to every state in the Union.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Some of the people who move down here are real ****ing snobs and look down on people who live here. I suppose if you can afford to send a kid to private school, go for it. All the kid will end up with is the same education they would have gotten at a public school and a healthy cocaine habit...

It has nothing to do with being a snob, when you move down to FL with a 9th grader and they come home and tell you they're doing the same curriculum they did in the 7th grade up north it is a problem.

Or an 11th grader who is given seven periods of independent study as they have completed all the classes at the local HS up north, and there is nothing more they can offer them.

Nothing more problematic than a bored teen.

Why do people take the fact that FL lags behind most of the country in education as a personal insult?

People have a right to check these things out in advance.

[Swimmom32]

yes they do and we moved with a Freshman in HS and he did not do the same thing in Middle School...and he is now an 11th Grader who is doing the exact work than my best friends Kid up North and she is in a very good school system...and a few of our friends kids were accepted to some excellent colleges out of state whom graduated from our school system...Only because the state of florida is known for bad schools does not mean the ENTIRE state is that way....the same could be said for a lot of other places...My kids have gone to school in 3 different states and let me tell you from Experience they are getting a very good education right here where we live

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

It has nothing to do with being a snob, when you move down to FL with a 9th grader and they come home and tell you they're doing the same curriculum they did in the 7th grade up north it is a problem.

Or an 11th grader who is given seven periods of independent study as they have completed all the classes at the local HS up north, and there is nothing more they can offer them.

Nothing more problematic than a bored teen.

Why do people take the fact that FL lags behind most of the country in education as a personal insult?

People have a right to check these things out in advance.

It has a lot to do with the school you decided to live in for your child. There are many top 100 HS in FL.