Woburn School ratings (Boston: 2015, condo, house)

[africat14]

Hello everyone,
We have been doing house hunt and loved a condo we saw in Woburn,ma. The thing that is making us nervous is the school ratings.
Anyone here can explain me how they rate schools and how valid they are. What are the reliable sources of ratings?

thanks

[tysmith95]

Most schools are ranked using test scores like MCAS or SAT. I believe that these scores tend to reflect the socioeconomic status of the students more than the quality of teachers/administration/facilities that a school district has. I'm not entirely aware of the quality of Woburn's school systems but I know that the town has a strong commercial/industrial tax base so I'm sure that the schools are well funded.

The one argument that makes sense involving schools is that otherwise equal students may do better in the "top" school district because their friends are working hard to get into the top colleges while in a "mediocre" school district not all of their friends go to college. However I believe that motivated students will do just as well at a top school district as they will at a mediocre school district. For less motivated students I believe that being surrounded by more motivated students will cause them to do better.

[Whatsnext75]

Woburn Schools - Woburn Massachusetts School Ratings - Public and Private

[KJMoves]

I always advise to go straight to the source, the Mass DOE. The other 'rankings' that are out there can be helpful, but the DOE really breaks everything down into numbers.

Link to overall Woburn DOE "Report Card":
2015 Report Card Overview - Woburn (03470000)

Most recent assessment vs. state:
MCAS Tests of Spring 2015 Percent of Students at Each Achievement Level - Woburn (03470000)

There is a lot more data on that site, so you can look for what's most important to you. If you are considering other towns within your price range, you can look at those also & see how they measure up.

Another, more simplified ranking that pulls it's data from the DOE is Boston Magazine's annual ranking of the top 125 in Greater Boston. There are always people that take issue with the way these things are pulled together, but I think that's a decent chart.

Good luck--I think Woburn is a great town and of course the taxes are lower than others in the area, but it's all about what matters most to you!

[semiurbanite]

https://k12.niche.com/d/woburn-public-schools-ma/

[Beachcomber4]

Louisiana private school rankings by niche.com are new -- and flawed, critics say | NOLA.com

KJMoves is correct use DOE- these other specialty sites are very subjective.

You are not the first to be freaked out by these sites and publications.

A member of one of our town boards cited Niche rankings and used a Boston Magazine best of issue to compare us to other districts. He felt the provided compelling reasona to cut our school budget- money was being wasted on a below average district.

The reason our schools were rated low on Niche was because our community is not ethinically diverse and the numbers they were using for graduation rate and standardized test scores were not correct. We were not ranked in Boston Magazine because our community in not within the geographic area that covers.

Bottom line: Unless the criteria for a ranking is clear, don't trust it. Test scores and then a visit to the community to get a feel for the culture and if it will suit your children are much better ways to go about finding the right fit.

Good luck.

[CaseyB]

This is an excellent point, Beachcomber4. I think our schools were rated a C- on "diversity", LOL.

Boston Magazine ranks schools based on where their subscribers live.