Should MCAS results be a deciding factor on which town you move to?

[AandD]

Can I weigh in?

I didn't make my decision based WHOLLY on MCAS scores, but it was my jumping off point. I think it all depends on what YOU want from your school system.

Yes, MCAS scores, and standardized scores overall, can trend closely to income and education level of the parent. BUT, that doesn't necessarily mean cause/effect. And depending on your view - can lead to a lot more than "rich people pay for tutoring".

For me - the connection between MCAS/parents is: these parents are more involved in the school, they are more critical of school funding, they are more reliable about contributing to booster/fundraising activities. All of that was a PLUS in my decision tree.

Educators teach to 'the lowest common denominator'. This is true at primary as well as college levels. If the MCAS scores are higher, the lowest common denominator is higher, and the child is getting more out of his education.

Schools in a higher performing district will have fewer crime related issues (drug dealing, gangs, etc), and will therefore have to divert fewer resources to these issues. If that's because rich kids aren't generally your criminal element, then so be it.

While a large number of people decry standardized testing, it is really the only performance based measure we have at schools. And rather than saying it's not reliable because it correlates to income, we should wonder what social and educational barriers the under-performing schools' student- and parental- populations face.

But, like I said, MCAS is just a start. Make sure you visit the school district you are interested in. Find out about their long-range plans. Find out about planned apartment communities etc (that could easily turn a 400 student school into a 600 student school, and make class sizes unmanageable). Find out how large and active the PTA is. Find out how welcome parent involvement is. Look at their budgets - what percentage goes to sports vs. teacher development, etc. (IF that is what is important to you).

The search for a school system is a personal, and arduous, undertaking. And I think those who are relocating, and have the ability to CHOOSE their school system based on sound measures, are fortunate indeed. I know I CHOSE a great school for my kids when we moved, rather than the system they were BORN into in Texas.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by haberstroh

I must have written a book by now in here about my experience with test scores. But I have to comment again :-)
We moved here about 2 years ago and test scores was the first thing I looked at - next to the commute. We even considered Boston proper. But I wanted to live in a top ranked district like Winchester, Lexington, Sudbury, Belmont, Westwood. But then came the housing shock and although we had a good size budget, we could have only afforded a tiny starter with lots of work to do in any of these towns. So we expanded our search and looked at towns like Canton, Hingham, Milton, Needham ect. We ended up in Walpole. The test scores for our town were not top ranked but still okay. But what was the deciding factor was housing affordability (although not cheap by any means but okay for us) and commute time. I had also talked to parents, students, principals, checked out websites, neighbors and so on. I have to say now that I am very happy with our decision to live here. After two years of public school I know we live in a good town. But that is something you will not know for a while. It took me for instance a long time to realize that this town has a lot of children and young families (yes I saw that in the statistics but it did not mean anything to me). Not until my daughter started playing soccer I realized how many kids we have. And despite the problems that that might bring for the schools and future growth the town seems to handle it well. And we love it!!!
This is just an example and it depends on what your priorities are i.e strong sports programs, arts, music, after school clubs, special ed, talented programs, languages just to name a few. A lot of things you will not know for a while maybe years of living in a town. The test scores can only be a guideline, they should not be the deciding factor. I also agree with the previous posters about the income ratio and college attendance. You should also know that MA in general has a very good public school system and unless you live in problematic town like Brockton (I don't mean to be offensive) your children will get a good education in MA.
Good Luck!

Some very sage advice by haberstroh here.

No, MCAS should not be the deciding factor. But it is smart to include them as an important one. Look at SAT scores, too (which also correlate with MCAS scores).

Yes, scores correlate with income. So what? So does academic achievement and a wife variety of postive social indicators

[holden125]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

Some very sage advice by haberstroh here.

No, MCAS should not be the deciding factor. But it is smart to include them as an important one. Look at SAT scores, too (which also correlate with MCAS scores).

Yes, scores correlate with income. So what? So does academic achievement and a wife variety of postive social indicators

Agree. There are two reasons to take MCAS into consideration. The obvious and most important one is to figure out what the scores mean for the quality of the education your kids would get. A second, more attenuated reason, is that (barring a big change in district performance) other buyers will be considering it to a bigger or smaller degree, so it can have an impact at resale.

[Brena16]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Brena, the wealthiest towns tend to have the highest standardized test scores. I noticed that you were inquiring about Amesbury in an earlier thread, so I am inferring that is what concerns you? I know earlier you were interested in Duxbury, but it is like comparing apples and oranges, imho. From the data in our city-data stats, it lists a median income of $60,000 for Amesbury, and over $135,000 for Duxbury.

It doesn't matter the towns I'm looking at. We are in a certain financial bracket which enables us a small choice of homes in an affluent town, vs. a larger selection of homes in a more average town. So apples and oranges are not part of this equation IMHO

[clevedark]

AandD has made some very good points. You've got to sit down and figure out what you want from the school system and make some visits and do some research. He/She has given you some excellent ways to start the process.

You're in very good company re: your financial bracket and housing options. The point is, you've got choices and you want to evaluate them the best you can. I butt heads with DH constantly, and if I can switch the "conversation" to facts things work out better all around (pardon me if I'm overstepping here)....

Good luck!

[mothermay]

Studies have shown for 40 years that a community's standardized test scores show little more than the family backgrounds of the students. If you are a parent, a more appropriate response to these scores is for you to wonder how your own values regarding academic learning, love of reading, math, and science, and provision of a tight knit secure family environment can help your kids. Unless the district is impoverish and lacks basic educational resources, using MCAS scores to decide where to live is unlikely to affect your own child's academic achievements. SAT scores won't either. It is you parents who affect your child's academic achievement.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by mothermay

Studies have shown for 40 years that a community's standardized test scores show little more than the family backgrounds of the students. If you are a parent, a more appropriate response to these scores is for you to wonder how your own values regarding academic learning, love of reading, math, and science, and provision of a tight knit secure family environment can help your kids. Unless the district is impoverish and lacks basic educational resources, using MCAS scores to decide where to live is unlikely to affect your own child's academic achievements. SAT scores won't either. It is you parents who affect your child's academic achievement.

I have to vehemently disagree. My children have been provided with wonderful educational opportunities and a loving, supportive environment. I was fairly happy with our public school system until my children reached 3rd and 4th grade and at that time started to see what I considered deficiencies.
After years of my children scoring poorly on MCAS (one of my children actually failed in 2008), we moved. We chose a system that in part boasted very good test scores.

My children improved their scores dramatically in one year. The one who failed math in 2008 scored well into the proficient range in 2009. I attribute it to a school system with smaller class size, a commitment to excellence, strong communication between schools and home and teacher dedication.

[ScituateAl]

My wife and I have two boys and the older one is just in 1st grade. As a parent, I do appreciate the adage that "what get measured gets done"...so with the MCAS at least there is some measure of their learning. It makes schools and districts much more responsible for what they produce. That said, we also feel that an education goes beyond just the core academic classes and know that districts are likely dropping art & music in favor of beefing-up MCAS prep and "teaching to the test".

As Beachcomber says, it's easy to see that those districts with good MCAS scores are also likely to have good SAT scores, are more financially well-off, etc.. A district usually needs to have their act together and parents/caregivers need to provide the support to get a good education. This is simply reflected in MCAS scores as well.

[Beantown_mama]

Some of these high MCAS school systems are way too competitive for some kids. If your child is an average student, not an over achiever, you may want to look for some towns that have good schools systems (like the top 100 in the state) but not necessarily the top 10 MCAS towns in the state. I have a friend whose kids went to a top 5 school system and the truth was that they ended up feeling dumb and unmotivated compared to some of those overachieving kids in those schools. It can also be harder to get into AP classes.
Most school systems in Massachusetts, as long as they are safe, are quite good. There are other factors that should play in to buying a house - will you be house poor? Where do you commute to? Do you like rural, suburban, urban? Mass transportation? Lots of families around? Do you want to live in a town with million dollar homes in in (because high MCAS definitely correlates to income and housing prices for many of these towns).

[ChunkyMonkey]

Absolutely not, some schools tend to teach only for the MCAS. It also penalizes towns that have diverse immigrant populations, where English may not be the first language.