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What school rating is acceptable?
Different people's opinions differ a lot on this topic.
On real-estate websites like Redfin there is a school rating for nearby schools, ranging from 1-10. 5 is average for the State of California. I am planning to buy a home. My choices: decent house in 5-score district or a noisy condo in a 7-8-score district.
Some people say anything below 7-8 is very bad, others say anything below 9 is bad.
I have a feeling that relying on these ratings might mean something like: If you have a child with low IQ, but you buy a $2M house to get your kid into a "9" school then your kid will have around 7-9 test scores. Meaning that a stupid kid would get ok/good results in a very strong school, while the same stupid kid would get bad grades if he/she was surrounded with similar capability children. What if your kid is not stupid but above average? Would he/she need a high scored school, would a smart kid get low grades in an average school? It's like "my kid is so stupid, he needs special help".
I am an engineer, I graduated from a very strong uni with Msc, would only marry someone intelligent. then I expect my kids to inherit good mental skills too. Would they have any prospects in a "5" score school? By the way I cannot afford to buy a home in a 7-10 school district. In the Silicon Valley today (January 2015) only someone from senior management or a crony or layer/doctor/investor can afford to move into a 7-10 school district.
How bad is a "5" score public school?
In Europe we didn't have these school districts/realestate linkage, at least not for highschool level. Middleschool students had to write an SAT to get into a chosen highschool (then travelled across town every day), they were not assigned to a highschool based on residence like here in the US.
Also in every class there were students ranging from stupid to genius.
You're unmarried, without children? Then you're buying the school for resale value -- what the prospective buyer will pay to get into that district. But what you need to look at is not a score -- who knows how they were calculated -- but what do the schools focus on in that district? Frankly I don't think you can really use a 10 point scale to get meaningful distinction. About the best you can get is good, bad, or really good. Bad can have as much to do with drugs and gang activity as actual education. Look at the courses are offered at the school rather than just graduation rates. Better schools might not have as high numbers just because they push harder.
I am not buying for resale value. I am just not shortsighted about my future. Buying a house for a few months/years is what I find irresponsible, like living for the moment only day by day. I want to buy now, but it has to be suitable for my needs 10 years from now too.
5 is not bad, 7 is not bad 9 is not bad. I would look around the neighborhood and see where you would like to live, then don't pay too much for the home. Remember, lower resale value, but lower initial sale value so that is a wash. I live in a "lower" ranked district yet the kids learned a lot, and the community is tight knit and involved. Our crime rates are also low and the neighborhood is neat and tidy. A neighborhood is more than its schools.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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School quality makes a big difference in home values in areas with a lot of families with kids. Around here we get people in bidding wars paying $600k for a tear-down just because it's near a top rated school. They are obsessed with 9-10 ratings, and will not consider anything less. For me, since the ratings can be manipulated by the school, to best meet test scores and college readiness measurement and get a good score. What's not considered are things that may be important to some people such as parental involvement, condition of the campus, student diversity, foreign language, music or art programs. We found an area we liked, then not only checked scores but visited the school and attended a school board meeting. The schools our kids attended after that were rated 10, 9 and 9, currently they are rated 10, 9 and 7 (the high school has dropped a bit) but the youngest graduated 8 years ago. In our city none is rated below 8 so you need to research in more detail, because you may actually prefer one rated 8 over one rated 10.
You have to understand how the rating was calculated.
There is an elementary school (Edison) near us that is rated a 6.
So, not that good.
But, the % of free lunch kids is up there.
The other kids are from families that really care about education.
So, in reality, there are 2 ratings which are squished into 1.
I can assure you that the children of the Highland Mommies (official name) are getting a good education.
School ratings are not the most solid way to evaluate a school. It's more like a rough estimate.
They are usually based on test scores and that correlates heavily with income.
I agree you need to look at the percentage of kids on free lunch and take that into consideration, since that often impacts scores. Also look at what kinds of programs they offer for kids (anything for gifted students? arts and music? sports? aftercare programs?), level of parent involvement (is there a strong, active PTA?) and read the comments left by parents on various websites. Also ask around, preferably to people who have direct experience with the school.
10 means that the school is not terrible. 9 means that it's probably not terrible. 7 and 8 - it's really hard to tell. 6 or below is crap.
As far as real estate, I thought school quality is already factored into the price. So a house in a 5 district will be cheaper than one from a 10 district when you buy it and when you sell it. It will still increase in price, assuming the general price trend is up.
10 means that the school is not terrible. 9 means that it's probably not terrible. 7 and 8 - it's really hard to tell. 6 or below is crap.
As far as real estate, I thought school quality is already factored into the price. So a house in a 5 district will be cheaper than one from a 10 district when you buy it and when you sell it. It will still increase in price, assuming the general price trend is up.
7 or 8 isn't that hard to tell IMO. If a school with 60% of the kids on reduced or free lunch and fairly large class sizes but has a 7 rating it's a damn good school. Those teachers care and those parents are involved. But if it's 7 in a wealthier school district and a full staff then something might be going on. Still might be okay... but investigating is warranted IMO.
My kids went to a school that was 6 for a couple of years and it actually was a good school. Very solid. Nothing spectacular but certainly nothing horrible either. You really do have to investigate past the ratings.
School ratings are not the most solid way to evaluate a school. It's more like a rough estimate.
They are usually based on test scores and that correlates heavily with income.
I agree you need to look at the percentage of kids on free lunch and take that into consideration, since that often impacts scores. Also look at what kinds of programs they offer for kids (anything for gifted students? arts and music? sports? aftercare programs?), level of parent involvement (is there a strong, active PTA?) and read the comments left by parents on various websites. Also ask around, preferably to people who have direct experience with the school.
^^This is great insight.
These numbers are based on test scores, which generally reflect family income more than anything else. It is a very rough estimate of school quality and should not be relied upon. Moving into a "10" will not makes your kid smart just because she can go there, and in fact, may stress her out tremendously. Top-rated schools can be full of kids who are great test-takers, but otherwise unexceptional. They can have a lot of overly-driven, educationally-obsessed, arrogant and plain obnoxious parents--a smug lot that would make your life unbearable as well as your child's. And yes, such schools may prove to be the perfect fit. That's always possible too.
OP. the truth is that you cannot know what type of school is best for your kid until you have a kid. Trust me on this. Whatever you think your child will be, you will be wrong at some point. Kids have minds of their own, and frankly that's the way it's supposed to be. So do not obsess about moving into the "best" school district in order to "be ready". There is no way to be ready. It is a useless endeavor that will waste your time. Wait until the child is actually here, and then, as Tinawina suggests, use multiple measures to find the right school.
And if you have to move from where you are to a district and school better-suited for your kid, you won't be the first.
Last edited by citylove101; 01-27-2015 at 06:29 PM..
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