[longviewJoe]

I am perhaps sensitive but let's ease up on all the minority talk. It just sounds awkward to me with the high potential of offending someone. Plus not sure this conversation is going anywhere!?

[08grad]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

Clark and Coronado are easily in the top 20 in N. Texas. You are being fooled by the difference in structure. These are Sr. high schools in TX with only seniors and juniors. The LV schools are all four years.

And again the proper comparison is to the Dallas ISD. The others are pretty much all limited and monied suburban schools.

NMSF is a very good metric. On virtually all these others you end up with wide variances on who is tested, So you cannot go by the scores. You first have to dig out the testing protocol.

I might have been looking at the state list instead of the Dallas area list. Coronado ranks 12th in Dallas area schools, but outside the top 20 in the state of Texas.

Plano West and Plano High are the only schools on that list that are 11-12, not that it matters at all since it's a grade level test.

My issue with NMSF is that it is very narrow. It measures how many students in the school are in the top 1% (or higher) in the state. Clark has ~30 NMSF each year. Palo Verde has ~3. Clark's average math ACT in 2018-19 was 17.9. Palo Verde was 19.9. Which school is better? You'll get a different answer depending on the student/parent you're asking.

I got Clark's ACT data in front of me. 4 kids scored a perfect 36 on the math section, none were NMSF. Neither were the 9 who scored a 35. Most of the finalists (26) scored between 30-34, but (5) of the finalists scored below 30. Clark had a total of 161 students scoring 30+, meaning there wasn't much correlation between the two tests. NMSF is definitely something to use, but has tons of flaws.

Could also look at AP scores, although schools are recently dropping AP courses for "dual enrollment" courses with NSC since passing rates on exams were low and this was a work around to get the kids college credit without demonstrating knowledge of the material. One school I taught at - the only students who passed an AP exam upon graduation were native Spanish speakers who took the AP Spanish exam.

[08grad]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

asians go with the white not minority.

LMAO. Oh man thank you for the laugh.

[strato58]

Mod can we please lock this thread down also.

[HollyBurns]

My husbands job is relocating to the Hoover Damn. I work as a teacher. We are looking at a move in December of 2020.... we have a 9 year old and 2 German Shepherds that are older and well behaved. We are having a tough time finding a rental!! We plan to buy, but not until 6-12 months and we have a good idea of locations, etc. this is a huge move for sure! I’m originally from TX but we have been working and living in Arkansas for over 3 years. Housing cost are super high it looks like and smaller? Basically, that’s why we will be renting until we get an idea of how things work there and costs of everything! Any ideas on safe places to rent houses that allow for my 2 German Shepherds?

Thanks!

[ChrisMT]

Have you tried Realtor.com?

https://www.realtor.com/apartments/L...12,10&qdm=true

[Jukesgrrl]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

Absurd finding. In actuality NV always heavily outscores AZ and NM. And CCSD outscores LAUSD and NYCSD.

We are not great. But we are a ways from the bottom. And we ought to fix it.

Talking about schools is like talking about traffic. Everyone claims theirs is the worst. School funding is problematic all over the Southwest US and much of it is a result of the number of retirees who settle here. Many tend to think they don't have any obligation to support schools financially since "I don't have any kids in school." I always tell them "so I suppose the people working in your doctors' offices being marginally literate isn't a problem to you?"

lvmensch is correct. We ALL ought to fix our schools. No matter where you go in the Southwest, if you are reasonably stable financially and can afford a decent home, your local schools will be as good as they are most places.

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by TheFeltFog

I would not suggest anybody move to Las Vegas. It is by far the biggest dump of a city I have ever been to. Everything about it, from the food to the crime to the roads, everything. Some of the dumbest people in the world live in Las Vegas. Horrible education system. Trash city.

Don't hold back, TheFeltFog; tell us how you really feel.

[apple92680]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

Talking about schools is like talking about traffic. Everyone claims theirs is the worst. School funding is problematic all over the Southwest US and much of it is a result of the number of retirees who settle here. Many tend to think they don't have any obligation to support schools financially since "I don't have any kids in school." I always tell them "so I suppose the people working in your doctors' offices being marginally literate isn't a problem to you?"

Another variation of that is;

"I raised my kids already, so I don't want to pay for schools anymore..."

Or, something nobody says openly in public, but is much more insideous:

"These kids don't look like me, or like my kids or grandkids, so I don't care..."


Largely white retirees who leave California for red states say the same things. I've heard it in private conversations and, although I'm Latino myself, they think I'm a "safe" person to make such comments to. I suppose I am because I've never called them out on it.

One time, I asked a white retired state employee (Republican, of course) if he felt that all of the brown/Latino working age people in California had a duty to pay taxes so he could have a lavish pension to take with him to Idaho?

He didn't like that, of course.

We haven't spoken since