Arizona Schools (Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert: homes, private schools, college)

[Ponderosa]

I keep seeing questions about the quality of AZ schools. A few weeks ago, the kids got this brochure in class and brought it home. It may answer some questions for you. Keep in mind that it averages all schools in the state - not sure if charters are included but probably are. Schools in the top-rated Districts and a few charters perform much higher than average. Some Disricts do worse.

http://www.azed.gov/srcs/statereportcards/StateReportCard05-06.pdf (broken link)

[sugarlips]

If you look at the state profile on the NAEP (Nations Report Card) web site, Arizona has not be above the national average in any of the years from 1992 and on (scale scores).

NAEP -- State Profiles. Educational Assessments by State. Student demographics. School characteristics. State comparisons. (click on AZ)

I don't know where the information comes from on page 3 of the report sent home. I cannot find any ranking on the RAND or NAEP site that even remotely looks like that ranking.

I did find a study of Tennesee schools that includes a listing of all the states 4th and 8th grade math, reading, science and writing test results for 2003.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_r...RAND_TR381.pdf

If you look on pages 8-16, you will find AZ at the botton of each graph. Look at 4th grade writing for 2003...AZ is dead last!!!!

Also on the Horne report, the Terra Nova scores are graphically presented in a way that makes it appear the AZ kids are not only scoring above average but WAY above average. Um, look at the scale...it's barely above average.

I'm sorry but I would be seriously angered if this was sent home to my children. It insults the intelligence of the parents of these kids. I don't even have children in AZ schools and I'm angered. Don't get me wrong...I'm not bashing AZ's entire public education system. You can find good schools in AZ but that report is very misleading.

[BillR1]

As a parent that brought 2 kids through the public schools system here in AZ, I can tell you FIRST HAND that this particular district is despicable as far as quality of education. When you have a teacher that tells their high school senior class that they're ASHAMED of the education that has been given out to the students, that pretty much says it all.
My son's junior high math teacher told me in a parent-teacher conference 5 years ago that "He doesn't need to get the right answers as long as he tries". This was a MATH class, not creative writing.
That maybe true here in fantasy land, but that doesn't work in the real world. I still kick myself for not getting them out of here then, but my wife didn't want to set the kids back a grade-level (or two) if we moved to a place that had REAL schools. My daughter (2nd year of college) tells me over and over how ill-prepared she is/was for the educational requirements of college, due to the so-called "education" she got here in Flagstaff.
I tell eveyone who asks me...DON'T let your kids go to public school here in Flagstaff!!

[OliviasDad]

So can anyone give me some names of private schools near Buckeye? Haha..I already know....nothing is near Buckeye.....

You guys are giving me second thoughts about raising my children down there....it's great that they'll be able to play/learn sports, swim, etc. year round....BUT, education was/is a big concern of mine...I'm no brain surgeon, but my wife and I both went to college, were very well prepared, and did fine here in the MidWest....

I really want the warm weather, but I don't want my kids missing out on quality of education..

Anyone here have anything great to say about the public schools there??

Also check out GreatSchols.net....not much to say about AZ schools either....

[Boatdrinks]

Originally Posted by BillR1

My son's junior high math teacher told me in a parent-teacher conference 5 years ago that "He doesn't need to get the right answers as long as he tries". This was a MATH class, not creative writing.

Unfortunately that thinking is not confined to AZ. I have heard of similar stories from friends in VA, NC, CA and NJ too. I believe that over the past 10 yrs or so, the education system has swung to the liberal/play-based/feel-good extreme. Consider how many schools nationwide are using grades other then A-F...it's all about making the kids feel good - heaven forbid if they get an F and feel some shame - and as long as they try, it's ok if they don't succeed. While I do agree with that concept in principal, I do NOT agree with it at the expense of actual education. Kids MUST learn that 2+2=4, not that 2+2=4 or 5 or 6, whichever, as long as you tried

I think that the popularity of various charter schools (for instance, Chandler Traditional Academy in my area) which concentrate on the basics in a no-nonsense (read: not playbased) environment is due in large part to people being fed up with the feel-good mentality and wanting their kids to actually learn what they need to know to succeed at college and in life.

Sorry to rant - this is a pet peeve of mine and it's not, by any means, specific to AZ alone.

[Boatdrinks]

Originally Posted by OliviasDad

So can anyone give me some names of private schools near Buckeye? Haha..I already know....nothing is near Buckeye.....

You guys are giving me second thoughts about raising my children down there....it's great that they'll be able to play/learn sports, swim, etc. year round....BUT, education was/is a big concern of mine...I'm no brain surgeon, but my wife and I both went to college, were very well prepared, and did fine here in the MidWest....

I really want the warm weather, but I don't want my kids missing out on quality of education..

Anyone here have anything great to say about the public schools there??

Also check out GreatSchols.net....not much to say about AZ schools either....

There ARE good schools in the Phoenix area. Many in Chandler and Gilbert get scores of 9 and 10 on greatschools.net. I can't speak to the rest of the valley. I have a few friends who teach or are principals in the Chandler and Gilbert school systems, and I have many friends who send their kids to these schools. They all speak very highly of them. Of course there are bad ones too, like there are in every state. But you can find good schools here, and there's a large number of private and charter schools to chose from too.

A few months ago there was a chance that we'd be moving to Raleigh, NC. I was excited b/c the Wake school system is supposed to be great. But after all the research I did, I realized that while there are definitely good schools there, there are also a LOT of bad ones. And Raleigh is experiencing tremendous growth so they're going through redistricting issues - even if we bought close to a great school, there would be the possibility that we'd be bussed somewhere else b/c of overcrowding. My long, rambling point is that moving to a city with good schools does not necessarily guarantee your kids a great education, and a city with bad schools doesn't mean your kids will grow up stupid. No matter where you move, you have to research individual schools, not just districts as a whole, and weigh everything including quality of life, time you'll have to spend with your kids and teaching them things rather then being stuck in rush hour for 90 minutes each way (our problem in DC), etc.

[BillR1]

Originally Posted by Boatdrinks

Unfortunately that thinking is not confined to AZ. I have heard of similar stories from friends in VA, NC, CA and NJ too. I believe that over the past 10 yrs or so, the education system has swung to the liberal/play-based/feel-good extreme. Consider how many schools nationwide are using grades other then A-F...it's all about making the kids feel good - heaven forbid if they get an F and feel some shame - and as long as they try, it's ok if they don't succeed. While I do agree with that concept in principal, I do NOT agree with it at the expense of actual education. Kids MUST learn that 2+2=4, not that 2+2=4 or 5 or 6, whichever, as long as you tried


Sorry to rant - this is a pet peeve of mine and it's not, by any means, specific to AZ alone.

I'm sure that's probably true, but it seems more pronounced here in hippie-land. This is BY FAR the most liberal county in the state, (the ONLY county in AZ to vote for algore in 2000!) so concepts like that are magnified and taught daily.
In spite of the traffic and crime, I'd MUCH rather raise a family/educate kids in the Phoenix area than here. Hindsight's always 20/20 though...

[BillR1]

Originally Posted by Boatdrinks

There ARE good schools in the Phoenix area. Many in Chandler and Gilbert get scores of 9 and 10 on greatschools.net. I can't speak to the rest of the valley. I have a few friends who teach or are principals in the Chandler and Gilbert school systems, and I have many friends who send their kids to these schools. They all speak very highly of them.

No question...WAY better than here!

[carecare7]

We homeschool......that takes care of the education problem!

[carecare7]

Hey BillR1, you should see the schools in Prescott Valley area. They make Flagstaff schools look good! ::::laughing:::: At least FUSD still has kept the PE, ART, Music, Computers and Strings programs. PV area schools are all into the "back to basics" ideology which means cuts in art and PE and so on.