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Old 05-13-2016, 07:53 AM
 
10 posts, read 19,940 times
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I am in the process of buying a home in Chandler from out of state. I chose Chandler because of the outstanding public school ratings for my daughter (particularly the 10 out of 10 ratings on Greatschools.org for Hamilton High School and Basha High School) As I was checking my daily email MLS listings the other day, I saw that Basha has been downgraded to an 8, Hamilton to a 7, and Chandler High from a 7 to a 5. Has something changed in Chandler I need to made aware of?

This was the sole reason I was going to buy there over places such as Gilbert or Queen Creek, or even far east Mesa, as I could buy much more house for the money. I had read somewhere that Hamilton High School this past year was named best public high school in the state. What am I missing?
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Old 05-13-2016, 09:09 AM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
1,350 posts, read 1,358,738 times
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There is another thread from a few months ago that addressed this. I hope this helps you.

Please see: GreatSchools?

Essentially the state-standard test got a lot harder and all the schools tested a lot worse, therefore. I guess it just shows the problem with algorithm-driven websites/ratings like Greatschools.
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Old 05-13-2016, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Chandler, AZ
4,059 posts, read 5,092,432 times
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Correct. They instituted a national test to level set against schools across the country. That is probably a more accurate reading vs. scoring against schools within AZ. You can be the top school in AZ but the best of a terrible school system compared to the rest of the country...that being said...Hamilton rated in the top 1000 High Schools in the country. I think it was 750'ish?
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Old 05-13-2016, 09:54 AM
 
9,576 posts, read 7,263,352 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redsox89 View Post
I had read somewhere that Hamilton High School this past year was named best public high school in the state. What am I missing?
Ratings are ratings, some people love them and live by them like they are the bible and others don't put much emphasis on them. US News and World Report just came out with their rankings of all 21,000 public schools in the country, about a month ago. BASIS-Scottsdale came in 2nd and BASIS-Tucson North came in 3rd, are those two charter schools really the 2nd and 3rd best public schools in the entire country out of 21,000?
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Old 05-13-2016, 10:49 AM
 
Location: Chandler, AZ
4,059 posts, read 5,092,432 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cjseliga View Post
Ratings are ratings, some people love them and live by them like they are the bible and others don't put much emphasis on them. US News and World Report just came out with their rankings of all 21,000 public schools in the country, about a month ago. BASIS-Scottsdale came in 2nd and BASIS-Tucson North came in 3rd, are those two charter schools really the 2nd and 3rd best public schools in the entire country out of 21,000?
By the criteria they used to rank schools...yes they are. Are they stringent with their selection process? No, they use a lottery, anyone has a chance to get in. Are they a meat grinder? Absolutely! Your kid can't keep up there are 50 others waiting to take their place.
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Old 05-13-2016, 12:07 PM
 
10 posts, read 19,940 times
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Thanks for the help. I figured it was something along those lines. I have read about how awful AZ schools supposedly are, but I don't know. Both my parents were teachers, and they swear it is the system now, not so much the "state" or the "area" you are in. They don't "teach" anymore, they regurgitate test questions. I really don't blame the teachers at all. In the end, I think if we do our jobs as parents, our children will be just fine.
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Old 05-13-2016, 12:57 PM
 
9,576 posts, read 7,263,352 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KurtAZ View Post
By the criteria they used to rank schools...yes they are. Are they stringent with their selection process? No, they use a lottery, anyone has a chance to get in. Are they a meat grinder? Absolutely! Your kid can't keep up there are 50 others waiting to take their place.
I know quite well about BASIS, my cousin in Tucson sends both of her kids there, one will be in 11th grade and the other in 9th grade next year. Even she rolls her eyes at those kind of rankings and takes them with a grain of salt. Obviously using things like AP courses taken and passed will cause the BASIS schools to be ridiculously high in that respect.
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