School Ratings Thread - READ FIRST for school inquiries. (Atlanta: apartments, buying a house)

[MantaRay]

The whole "move where the best schools are" thing is a farce. There are highly underperforming schools, which are usually violent, and there are schools which perform well on the standardized tests. Picking the top scoring schools over the next top scoring schools is an effort in futility and I'll tell you why.

The term "best schools" means highest scoring on standardized tests. The biggest influence on those scores is parental involvement- parents making their kids do their homework and helping kids when the kids need help. The highest scoring schools have the greatest % of actively involved parents. These are usually situations where most of the parents are themselves educated. That means that if a school A has 90% of students with actively involved parents and a school B has 80% of students with actively involved parents, school A will typically score higher on the standardized tests. School B will score well, but won't be considered "the best schools." Nonetheless a student WITH actively involved parents can do just as well at school B as at school A. The decision to go to school A just because it's the highest actually gets the kid NO BENEFIT over school B since the parents being involved will help that child do just as well on standardized tests and on the SAT. Now remember I'm comparing top scoring schools to good scoring schools that are not the top. Underperforming schools, which are typically violent, have a negative influence on a child's performance due to the violence and also to the excessive number of students who have low expectations because of LACK of parental involvement. But as far as the "best schools" versus the good scoring schools which are not at the top, there is no benefit for a child to go to the top scoring school.

Secondly, studies have shown that those standardized tests are not accurate predictors of collegiate success. In other words, many times students who have done well on the standardized tests have struggled once they got to college. And for most actively involved parents, the goal is 1)get the kid into a good college, 2)prepare the kid for collegiate success. Guess what that means? Chasing standardized test scores is not an accurate way to guarantee your child is prepared for collegiate success. So the whole basis of "best schools" is based on something that is NOT a predictor of college success. So why chase it? Why not chase what IS a good predictor of collegiate success? And that is active parental involvement and them setting high standards.

So how SHOULD people pick a neighborhood to live in? Find out what the "best schools" are but also what the "good schools" are. Stay away from the underperformers. Then, of that list, add in other factors that are important, and for different people these will be different. It might be best area for recreation, or closest area to downtown, or area with the most historical architecture, or area with the newer planned community homes, etc. Of course real estate agents LOVE the "best schools" talk because usually those neighborhoods carry the highest price tag and thus they get the highest commission. Often you can get the same house for less money in a "good schools" district versus in a "best schools" district. In other words, you can save money and STILL get the same result for your child.

Save the "best schools" rhetoric for when it really DOES matter- college. Harvard or UPenn business is "best schools." And the name of the school on the degree matters to employers. The name of the high school to college admissions, not so much so. Therefore the "best schools" thing is a farce.

[lastminutemom]

MantaRay

That is a great post.

Awesome!

And totally true.

I will also add my thoughts to this-- at the high schools judged to be the very best by test scores (ie top rated public and private schools), if your kid is simply average or even slightly above average, they can easily get lost in the crowd. There is one high school in Cobb where there are so many state and nationally ranked tennis players, they can't all make the team -- at one school.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

Save the "best schools" rhetoric for when it really DOES matter- college. Harvard or UPenn business is "best schools." And the name of the school on the degree matters to employers. The name of the high school to college admissions, not so much so. Therefore the "best schools" thing is a farce.

Right, and furthermore it's the last degree that matters most, for those heading towards grad school. Much better to have a bachelor's degree from UGA followed by a law degree or Ph.D. from Harvard, than vice-versa.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

The whole "move where the best schools are" thing is a farce. There are highly underperforming schools, which are usually violent, and there are schools which perform well on the standardized tests. Picking the top scoring schools over the next top scoring schools is an effort in futility and I'll tell you why.

The term "best schools" means highest scoring on standardized tests. The biggest influence on those scores is parental involvement- parents making their kids do their homework and helping kids when the kids need help. The highest scoring schools have the greatest % of actively involved parents. These are usually situations where most of the parents are themselves educated. That means that if a school A has 90% of students with actively involved parents and a school B has 80% of students with actively involved parents, school A will typically score higher on the standardized tests. School B will score well, but won't be considered "the best schools." Nonetheless a student WITH actively involved parents can do just as well at school B as at school A. The decision to go to school A just because it's the highest actually gets the kid NO BENEFIT over school B since the parents being involved will help that child do just as well on standardized tests and on the SAT. Now remember I'm comparing top scoring schools to good scoring schools that are not the top. Underperforming schools, which are typically violent, have a negative influence on a child's performance due to the violence and also to the excessive number of students who have low expectations because of LACK of parental involvement. But as far as the "best schools" versus the good scoring schools which are not at the top, there is no benefit for a child to go to the top scoring school.

Secondly, studies have shown that those standardized tests are not accurate predictors of collegiate success. In other words, many times students who have done well on the standardized tests have struggled once they got to college. And for most actively involved parents, the goal is 1)get the kid into a good college, 2)prepare the kid for collegiate success. Guess what that means? Chasing standardized test scores is not an accurate way to guarantee your child is prepared for collegiate success. So the whole basis of "best schools" is based on something that is NOT a predictor of college success. So why chase it? Why not chase what IS a good predictor of collegiate success? And that is active parental involvement and them setting high standards.

So how SHOULD people pick a neighborhood to live in? Find out what the "best schools" are but also what the "good schools" are. Stay away from the underperformers. Then, of that list, add in other factors that are important, and for different people these will be different. It might be best area for recreation, or closest area to downtown, or area with the most historical architecture, or area with the newer planned community homes, etc. Of course real estate agents LOVE the "best schools" talk because usually those neighborhoods carry the highest price tag and thus they get the highest commission. Often you can get the same house for less money in a "good schools" district versus in a "best schools" district. In other words, you can save money and STILL get the same result for your child.

Save the "best schools" rhetoric for when it really DOES matter- college. Harvard or UPenn business is "best schools." And the name of the school on the degree matters to employers. The name of the high school to college admissions, not so much so. Therefore the "best schools" thing is a farce.

I also agree...great post and oh-so-true!

[cmtiger]

And, if we ever bail for Dunwoody for a bigger house - this is why we will be looking for a house in the Chesnut district.... not Vanderlyn.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by cmtiger

And, if we ever bail for Dunwoody for a bigger house - this is why we will be looking for a house in the Chesnut district.... not Vanderlyn.

Look into Kingsley as well.


cmtiger...you're in Decatur, right? You don't like...? What's going on?

[cmtiger]

We love Decatur, esp the schools... it's just that our house is small and I'm lusting for a basement and a garage!!!!! Maybe it's b/c my kids are making me nuts right now.... I'd like a basement so I can lock them in there when they get wild!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by cmtiger

We love Decatur, esp the schools... it's just that our house is small and I'm lusting for a basement and a garage!!!!! Maybe it's b/c my kids are making me nuts right now.... I'd like a basement so I can lock them in there when they get wild!

Yea, those small, expensive houses (with the exorbitant property taxes) can leave one wanting...

[RoslynHolcomb]

...I'd like a basement so I can lock them in there when they get wild!

Screened in porch serves the same purpose. My little guy is getting over strep, but if I'd heard his light saber one more time today I would've beat my head in with the darned thing. They were consigned to the porch, and I finally got some much-needed peace.

[oldhousegirl]

Agree Manta Ray.