Richmond Vs Columbia County (Augusta-Richmond County, Savannah: neighborhoods, public schools, to live in)

[Redkrayola]

Yes, nice post on the crime stats, but schools were a topic of the thread too, so I gotta throw one more into the mix:

Richmond does, in fact, have the highest ranking schools....the two magnets. Everything else is Columbia county. The only Columbia laggard is Harlem (but thats expected based on the [true]socio-demogragraphics mentioned by Johndoeboy).

I'm a stats geek. Heres the real deal on school rankings below. This is Columbia vs. Richmond county high schools.
The ranking is based on tests taken during the 2005 - 2006 academic year. Middle and Elem schools follow pretty much the same pattern.

The info was pasted with links....not sure if you can access them in this post, though. Thats a bonus if you can. I get this info from a paid website. The public school ratings are based on each school's performance data on state-wide standardized tests, which are implemented by the department of education of each state.

Explanation of Test Scores:

• Gr 11 LA Exceed: Grade 11: Percentage of Students Exceeding Standards in English Language Arts
• Gr 11 Math Exceed: Grade 11: Percentage of Students Exceeding Standards in Mathematics
• Gr 11 Soc Exceed: Grade 11: Percentage of Students Exceeding Standards in Social Studies
• Gr 11 Sci Exceed: Grade 11: Percentage of Students Exceeding Standards in Science

Rank School County Gr 11
1Davidson MagnetRichmond98.098.091.058.0345.0
2Johnson MagnetRichmond98.084.075.035.0292.0
3LakesideColumbia83.076.063.035.0257.0
4EvansColumbia81.072.058.032.0243.0
5GreenbrierColumbia79.068.059.030.0236.0
6Academy Of Richmond CountyRichmond75.051.039.018.0183.0
7WestsideRichmond68.049.042.018.0177.0
8HarlemColumbia63.046.038.013.0160.0
9Cross CreekRichmond64.041.028.07.0140.0
10HephzibahRichmond62.040.023.012.0137.0
11ButlerRichmond45.024.018.03.090.0
12Glenn HillsRichmond54.024.09.02.089.0
13LaneyRichmond41.025.012.01.079.0
14JoseyRichmond36.018.013.03.070.0

[johndoeboy]

All good points lets just hope both counties will grow including aiken, mcduffie, burke, and lincoln. This will only help metro augusta reach its full potential.

[Redkrayola]

I couldn’t help myself…..I had to dig some more. Here are the same schools as compared to all 353 high schools in the state of Georgia.
Wow! Davidson Magnet is the number one ranked school in the state. It also won awards for being # 83 in the country! You can't map to this school based on the neighborhood you live in, though....Your kids can only get in via entry-based testing.

On the other hand, given the fact that I will be moving to the Augusta area.... although not the absolute best in the state (not too bad, though), my kids will be attending Lakeside, Evans, or Greenbrier. I guess that narrows down where I will be home shopping!

Bottom line: Other than the magnets, Richmond County schools are the predominant fillers of the absolute bottom of the list statewide.

Here are the results:

1. Davidson Magnet Richmond
30. Johnson Magnet Richmond
31. Lakeside Columbia
41. Evans Columbia
51. GreenbrierColumbia
179. Academy Of Richmond County Richmond
197. Westside Richmond
252. HarlemColumbia
263. Hephzibah Richmond
307. Cross Creek Richmond
334. Butler Richmond
336. Josey Richmond
345. Glenn Hills Richmond
350. Laney Richmond

[Redkrayola]

I'll make it even easier.....subdivision-by-subdivision in Columbia County....I'll report....you decide

http://www1.ccboe.net/zones.htm

[DisgustaTruth]

I don't think that there is any question that Davidson and Johnson are great schools... but they are not representative of The Richmond County school system as a whole.. as Red Krayola points out, once you remove those two schools Richmond County has some of the worst perforning high schools in the state.. near the bottom of the list. Davidson and Johnson are magnet schools, which means they get to cherry pick the very best students from the entire system. Of course their test scores will be higher because they get to choose the best students.

[johndoeboy]

They don't chose the best students at ar johnson and davidson. All you have to do is fill out a application for the school. According to you disgusta all the best students are in columbia county anyway remember. So how could davidson and ar johnson chose the best students, since their students live in richmond county.

AR JOHNSON IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GHETTO. But yet is still the number 30 ranked school in the state. Ranked ahead all of columbia county upper middle class schools evans, lakeside, and greenbrier. Of course it is ranked ahead of harlem, because that school is more lower class median incomes.

[Redkrayola]

Originally Posted by johndoeboy

They don't chose the best students at ar johnson and davidson. All you have to do is fill out a application for the school. According to you disgusta all the best students are in columbia county anyway remember. So how could davidson and ar johnson chose the best students, since their students live in richmond county.

AR JOHNSON IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GHETTO. But yet is still the number 30 ranked school in the state. Ranked ahead all of columbia county upper middle class schools evans, lakeside, and greenbrier. Of course it is ranked ahead of harlem, because that school is more lower class median incomes.

Hey Doeboy,
They do choose students based on academic achievement.
There is more than an application process; accepted applicants must "audition" before final selection.

Here is their application criteria:
http://davidson.rcboe.org/site_res_v...9-26b8946e1616

[DisgustaTruth]

Not to mention that they have a limited number of slots and there is long waiting list, esp at Davidson.
A student will not be accepted to any of the magnet schools without meeting certain academic standards.. and admission to Davidson requires an audition.
I think the magnet school concept is a great idea.. they are certainly the bright spots in the richmond county school system, but they are not representative of the school system as a whole.

[johndoeboy]

Again how do you know the best students in richmond county even fill out a application for davidson. Maybe you should say they get the best students who try to go to their school. Some of the best students in richmond county don't even want or try to go to davidson.

[rjm1969]

I was browsing this forum because I plan to relocate to Savannah Ga., from Cleveland, Ohio through my job. I was very concerned with the high crime and poor school performance that I have read all through these forum. Plus I was concerned with the racial issues if any, because I am a divorced white femal with bi-racial (african-american ) children. Oviously I would want to move to a community that would be accepting of my family. I work at the United States Postal Service and with overtime I average about $60k annually here in Ohio, I think my base pay in Ga. will be around 41k. So I'm looking for a community close to Savannah (where I will be working) but in a area that is not full of crime. Plus my children come from accredited Catholic Schools and are all honor students. So, from what I'm getting from what I've read so far...Chatham=BAD, Columbia=GOOD, and Richmond= ONLY the MAGNET schools. would that be about right? Question? Could any of you give me an idea where the best area in my current situation would be to live? I still need to be close enough to Savannah for work, but I can't imagine living there after reading the crime stats. Thank YOu all so much this has been so informative thus far.