Looking forward to living in the San Antonio area! Advice please!

[Sasha's]

Are you looking at National Ratings?
That means that Texas is one state that spends the most money on schools per child.
You need to look at the proficiency ratings-Texas has some of the lowest scores in the US !
You cannot think that a school has great ratings because we spend the most money- we are spending so much money BECAUSE WE ARE FAR BEHIND!!
Asking a parent how their child's school is, is akin to asking which brand of cookie is best....
Look at proficiency data from yor state/national data- not some propietary school data!! The internet is just an 'advertisement of businesses'. Do some documentation digging at your library. I think you will be shocked at how poorly the Texas school systems are.
'I love statistics! !'

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by Sasha's

Are you looking at National Ratings?
That means that Texas is one state that spends the most money on schools per child.
You need to look at the proficiency ratings-Texas has some of the lowest scores in the US !
You cannot think that a school has great ratings because we spend the most money- we are spending so much money BECAUSE WE ARE FAR BEHIND!!
Asking a parent how their child's school is, is akin to asking which brand of cookie is best....
Look at proficiency data from yor state/national data- not some propietary school data!! The internet is just an 'advertisement of businesses'. Do some documentation digging at your library. I think you will be shocked at how poorly the Texas school systems are.
'I love statistics! !'

Personally, I hate statistics when it comes to school data, because it is never the complete picture. Parental input is vital, talking to school staff is vital, and yes, data is vital, but not in and of itself.

Looking at your past posts, it would seem you care very little for Texas; you especially have a hatred of San Antonio, so your post here is not surprising, I suppose. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

[NSwensen]

@Sasha's I understand where statistics aren't everything. As someone who grew up in the Texas school system then moved away and now wants to move back, I understand they aren't nearly as strong as Iowa but given my husband and I's commitment to educating our children when they aren't in school we aren't worried about moving to Texas because of their school system. Any school with high ratings just gives an outsider an idea to go on but it isn't inclusive of how your child will do, that is up the child and parent. Thanks for the input.

[lollygagger428]

Originally Posted by Sasha's

Are you looking at National Ratings?
That means that Texas is one state that spends the most money on schools per child.
You need to look at the proficiency ratings-Texas has some of the lowest scores in the US !
You cannot think that a school has great ratings because we spend the most money- we are spending so much money BECAUSE WE ARE FAR BEHIND!!
Asking a parent how their child's school is, is akin to asking which brand of cookie is best....
Look at proficiency data from yor state/national data- not some propietary school data!! The internet is just an 'advertisement of businesses'. Do some documentation digging at your library. I think you will be shocked at how poorly the Texas school systems are.
'I love statistics! !'

Totally agree! You couldn't pay me to put my kids in public schools here...even though my ridiculously high property taxes are paying for others. I don't mind that as much as the pathetic drop-out rates and catering to ESL here. The scores are low for a reason.

[NSwensen]

Another question regarding schools and districts. I was looking into Leon Valley as the school ratings seemed nice and have heard from a few locals that it would be a nice place for us and we are weighing all the potential possibilities. I'm finding it hard to find a rental with the LV address, it comes up SA in the LV area or just SA. Is there something I am missing or is it that LV and SA blend together in that area? How does that work for school districts?

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by NSwensen

Another question regarding schools and districts. I was looking into Leon Valley as the school ratings seemed nice and have heard from a few locals that it would be a nice place for us and we are weighing all the potential possibilities. I'm finding it hard to find a rental with the LV address, it comes up SA in the LV area or just SA. Is there something I am missing or is it that LV and SA blend together in that area? How does that work for school districts?

I believe Leon Valley is 78238, 78240 and 78268. Wikipedia knows more than I do (and I had no idea it encompasses way more than just Leon Valley Elementary...who knew) Leon Valley, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rynetwo]

Originally Posted by Sasha's

Are you looking at National Ratings?
That means that Texas is one state that spends the most money on schools per child.
You need to look at the proficiency ratings-Texas has some of the lowest scores in the US !
You cannot think that a school has great ratings because we spend the most money- we are spending so much money BECAUSE WE ARE FAR BEHIND!!
Asking a parent how their child's school is, is akin to asking which brand of cookie is best....
Look at proficiency data from yor state/national data- not some propietary school data!! The internet is just an 'advertisement of businesses'. Do some documentation digging at your library. I think you will be shocked at how poorly the Texas school systems are.
'I love statistics! !'

When you are looking at statistics do adjust and weight the numbers due to race and economic status? When the numbers are weighted Texas schools for Hispanic kids are on par with states like Taxachusetts...

[TXsurburbanmom]

Found out firsthand that you can't look at a state or even a city as a whole and get the real picture. We moved to NC to a district with great ratings only to find a hot mess of busing and constant rezoning. Chose a small town to avoid this and found the school substantially behind the school we left here. Once we decided to move back I found a site comparing zip codes rather than cities. We left a zip rated excellent in education in SA and moved to one rated average. Thankfully we were able to move back. I suggest the greatschools site as it includes test scores AND parent reviews in rating. You can look by district, grade level or name of school. You can even just put San Antonio and rank high to low (my kids schools are 3rd and 4th highest rated! So blessed to be home! )

[NSwensen]

ddeel, that's really helpful. I didn't know you can sort by scores on that site. Our first priority is good schools (public) and then hoping for as close to my husbands work as possible. I appreciate all the input we have gotten so far.