[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by riveree

No, they're not. That's a myth. There are 4 high schools in St. John's county and only 2 have A ratings. The other two are rated C & D.

UGhhhh, the "A" rating, once again, is totally useless. Look at actual test scores. I understand St. Augustine high is'nt all that great though.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by riveree

posed here 'where are the good schools'? I still haven't seen an answer.

I've never seen anyone on this forum be able to point out a county in Florida and say "this county's school system is good". Not 'the school for my neighborhood is good' (even I can do that), but county-wide, 'this is a top-notch district'. Does one exist? Where all the schools in the entire system are A or B rated?

1. The "A or b" rating is useless. Do some studying into actual test scores, graduation rates, SAT Scores, etc
2. Every single high school in Seminole County was ranked among newsweeks top 1000 high schools. Theres your all A-B district.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

UGhhhh, the "A" rating, once again, is totally useless. Look at actual test scores. I understand St. Augustine high is'nt all that great though.

St. Augustine currently has a "D" rating and Pedro Menendez has the "C".

It's only Nease and Bartram that are good and those are the two that all the new development feeds into, so there's the potential for overcrowding (I believe it's already begun at one, but I don't have any numbers for you - it's just what I've heard and seen on the news, etc.).

I am looking at the test scores, they're listed along with the ratings, and the test scores for those 2 high schools are pretty bad.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

1. The "A or b" rating is useless. Do some studying into actual test scores, graduation rates, SAT Scores, etc
2. Every single high school in Seminole County was ranked among newsweeks top 1000 high schools. Theres your all A-B district.

1) But the rating system isn't useless.....it's what parents have right now as a gauge. It's not the end all/be all, but it's not useless, it's a tool. The test scores are usually given alongside the rating itself.

2) So K-12 in Seminole county is ALL rated A/B? (that was the question I posed)

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by riveree

1) But the rating system isn't useless.....it's what parents have right now as a gauge. It's not the end all/be all, but it's not useless, it's a tool. The test scores are usually given alongside the rating itself.

It's a tool as long as you understand that your child is not necessarily going to get a good education in an "A" rated school. That is the problem. People like me who are thinking of relocating look at the "A" rating and think it's going to be decent when the actual test results are abysmal.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by UKOK

It's a tool as long as you understand that your child is not necessarily going to get a good education in an "A" rated school. That is the problem. People like me who are thinking of relocating look at the "A" rating and think it's going to be decent when the actual test results are abysmal.

I know B schools with higher test scores than A schools. And yes, every school in Seminole County was at least "B" rated.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

I know B schools with higher test scores than A schools. And yes, every school in Seminole County was at least "B" rated.

And that's where the FCAT score rating system is a tool - you have to use it to dig deeper and get into the details - some B's will have better test scores than A's.....it IS possible. With the C and D rated schools, you don't even need to bother, the rating system has done it for you (seriously, you wouldn't even look, right?).

If Seminole county can manage to have all B-rated or better, then there's something to be learned there. It's a smaller, more manageable county than Duval's, for example, with far less schools, but I bet Duval could learn a thing or two.......we can only hope .

[riveree]

Originally Posted by UKOK

It's a tool as long as you understand that your child is not necessarily going to get a good education in an "A" rated school. That is the problem. People like me who are thinking of relocating look at the "A" rating and think it's going to be decent when the actual test results are abysmal.

.........and THAT'S why people don't relocate to Florida for the schools .

[Moonlight4]

If you want a more laid back place to live in Florida I would suggest the West Coast of Florida. Things are much more calm there and still has a little taste of the "Old Florida". Central Florida is nice and has Disney World and tons of things to do there but in my opinion is not a quiet place to live. South Florida is really nice and lots of things to do but is very expensive to live and gets hit by hurricanes the most. There are parts that are not as expensive like Sebastian, Vero Beach which are quiet.

[firex4icex]

Thank you all for your replies.

I had lost my post and where I posted it.

All of you are a great help.

Since Florida is not great with schools as quoted above, can anyone suggest a state to relocate with 4 sons? We are looking to rent and would like a decent size home. Somewhere where my husband can transfer within his company at Comcast. A safe place , family oriented, yet affordable.

Considered Maine but I don't know about all the damn snow and cold.

Thanks in advance.