LC Scores Top 20 Public Schools (Evansville, Gary: middle-class, top schools, stats) - Northwest Indiana - Indiana (IN) - City-Data Forum

msamhunter · 07-11-2012, 10:37 AM

ta1064 · 07-11-2012, 11:22 AM

Not sure what methodology was used. But, rest assured, Tony Bennett is shaking his head in disgust at Gary's performance. His upcoming appearance in Gary should be very interesting.

svillechris · 07-11-2012, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msamhunter

I think it's pretty clear that CP, Munster, and Lake Central are the better districts in Lake County, that's not new news. Great year for CP schools, they should be commended. What I did find very interesting, though, is how drastic the differences are between elementary and middle schools within the same district. For example, Beiriger Elementary in Griffith and Salk Elementary in Merrillville had very strong scores, while the rest of the district's elementary and middle schools had poor scores. To a different degree, because all Munster schools are good, Frank Hammond's scores really brought up School Town of Munster's overall district score, considering the fact the the other schools were all under 80% yet Frank Hammond was over 92%. Maybe I have not been paying this close of attention in years past, but I don't remember the differences among schools within the same districts being this wide.

msamhunter · 07-11-2012, 12:48 PM

msamhunter · 07-11-2012, 01:20 PM

Northwest Indiana · 07-12-2012, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msamhunter

I would not say that Munster is a tier BELOW CP or LC just by looking at this graph. LC and CP were not even acknowledged as top schools in the nation, but Munster as well as Zionsville, Carmel, Fishers, and Signature School in Evansville were (all consistently too)...but this doesn't mean that CP or LC are tiers below Munster.

Take into consideration that LC district has 10 schools total, CP also 10, and Munster 5 schools. However, each of LC and CP schools have a more even mix of more affluent education and less affluent educated students/families where in Munster, there is an uneven distribution betwen the north and south ends of town. North end is more middle-class and many ESL learners and south end is more upper-middle class with less ESL learners with more educated parents. This is present on census data as well.

I-STEP scores are not the only thing that determines school rankings. Other things such as amenities, safety, community involvement, extra-curriculars, future prospects, etc. determine how people value school systems. I can guarantee that most people are not going to debate whether they should move to Munster or Merrillville based on the score of an elementary school. Very different towns with very different futures.

I'm happy for the schools that scored top spots, even ones that people (including me) may have thought wouldn't have. But I think tiering school based only on I-Steps is not accurate and can be misleading.

svillechris · 07-12-2012, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msamhunter

Yeah sorry msam, but this ranking system is kind of silly to be honest. If you wanted to rank in this regard, you would have to take % of schools within the district in each of these tiers and then weight the .90-1 tier more heavily than the rest to get a truer representation of the district's stregth. LC and CP have twice the amount of schools as Munster, so just because LC or CP have more schools in the higher tiers does not necessarily mean they are better than a smaller school system. I agree with Northwest Indiana, Munster is not on a lower level than CP or LC. I'd say a student that wants to learn and has parents who care, will be able to get a very strong education in any of these three districts. You also do have to look at other stats when evaluating a district, ISTEP scores are just one slice of the pie. Munster's AP participation and pass rates as well as SAT and ACT scores are the best in the county still, and that should be just as important as ISTEPs. Certain school districts can teach to the test and receive higher ISTEP scores, while other districts may provide a more balanced overall education experience. ISTEP scores are not the be-all-end-all of education by any means, but they are interesting to analyze.

Bluefox · 07-12-2012, 02:33 PM

msamhunter, is that 2012 data? and do you have a link? I'd like to see the listings for porter co.

svillechris · 07-12-2012, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluefoxwarrior

msamhunter, is that 2012 data? and do you have a link? I'd like to see the listings for porter co.

This link has the data for both Lake and Porter County schools:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/l...92ac4f1b3.html

msamhunter · 07-12-2012, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluefoxwarrior

msamhunter, is that 2012 data? and do you have a link? I'd like to see the listings for porter co.

I actually used the hook in at wishtv.com as I did Marion and pretty much all of the donut counties. LC actually outperformed Marion from top to bottom mainly because IPS sucks and they have more schools with lower scores than Gary no one even comes close to Hamilton.