Best public elementary school in/around Boston (Cambridge, Somerville: magnet schools, colleges)

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

Not only that, but if you do some research on private vs public school outcomes, the majority of studies show that private schools off no advantage after controlling for income. Smaller class sizes, yes - but those classes are being taught by people who make 30-50% less than public school teachers and there are zero certification requirements for private school teachers. Private schools do create a network though - if you want to make sure your kid rubs elbows with rich kids from privileged backgrounds they might end up more connected later in life (though out of touch with the real world).

Is that averaged over all private schools, or did they focus on the top 10 private schools in the US?

I knew kids that went to some of those schools. They were better prepared for college than I was. We still did about the same when we got there, but I had a steeper transition. The kids that were furthest along were those that went to competitive (i.e. exam) public schools.

[semiurbanite]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Is that averaged over all private schools, or did they focus on the top 10 private schools in the US?

I knew kids that went to some of those schools. They were better prepared for college than I was. We still did about the same when we got there, but I had a steeper transition. The kids that were furthest along were those that went to competitive (i.e. exam) public schools.

Average, but kids that go to Phillips or Boston Latin are pre-qualified as top performers before entering high school so you can't really compare - those kids may have been just as far along at the top of their class at Medford High.

“So when you first look, without controlling for anything, the kids who go to private schools are far and away outperforming the public school kids. And as soon as you control for family income and parents’ education level, that difference is eliminated completely.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-study-matters

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

Smaller class sizes, yes - but those classes are being taught by people who make 30-50% less than public school teachers and there are zero certification requirements for private school teachers.

I know several private school teachers and they are all people I'd be happy to have teach my children. Most reputable private schools have standards that exceed certification requirements in many cases. There are various valid reasons teachers choose private over public. Some disagree with the constraints placed on public educators by common core requirements and want more leeway to really teach. I also know a few highly successful and intelligent individuals who have semi retired and gone into teaching. One reason they went to private schools is because they didn't want to put their previously accrued social security benefits in jeopardy down the road by teaching in public school.

You're going to get standout and dud teachers in both public and private schools.

[claiz]

OP - my 2 cents:

1. You cannot truly evaluate private/public elementary school for college admission. Just does not work. You can look at school district in general and look at high school matriculation statistics (schools do publish those), but that does not give you specific elementary school choice.

2. Elementary schools are not designed, quite rightly so, to be academic rigorous. They are just a bunch of silly kids. My kids go to elementary schools in Lexington (Horror! Pressure Cooker!) and I am surprised how relaxed they are when it comes to homework (it's kind of a joke). Middle/High school probably will be different though.

By the way, there are a lot of kids who goes to RSM in Lexington (mostly by STEM parents who are appalled by insanely low level math taught in public school, even in Lexington). RSM is everywhere though (Newton Acton Belmont Brookline Wellesley Winchester...). Most of the kids who actually go to RSM don't hate it. In fact they actually like it. Math can be fun you know.

3. Going to a good/elite college may not be the best thing for your kids. Even before my kids were born, I keep reminding myself my kids can (in fact likely) be very average academically and there is absolutely no problem going to an average school. I went to some very elite school myself and saw first hand how average kids struggled in that environment. Worst torture ever.

4. If you really, really, really want to send kids to elite colleges at all cost, consider donation to university endowment. Start saving!

[massnative71]

Might be a bit off topic (but still related). Not to devalue the excellence of these elite private or public schools; but if you expect that dropping your kid off at one of these will mean them sailing into the Ivys, then I would start preparing for the heartache that will come.

[semiurbanite]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

I know several private school teachers and they are all people I'd be happy to have teach my children. Most reputable private schools have standards that exceed certification requirements in many cases. There are various valid reasons teachers choose private over public. Some disagree with the constraints placed on public educators by common core requirements and want more leeway to really teach. I also know a few highly successful and intelligent individuals who have semi retired and gone into teaching. One reason they went to private schools is because they didn't want to put their previously accrued social security benefits in jeopardy down the road by teaching in public school.

You're going to get standout and dud teachers in both public and private schools.

I agree, my point is that private schools simply don't result in better outcomes based on most research. Those semi-retired people may know their subject are very well, but teaching it is a different thing which is why public schools require certifications. I know quite a few private school teachers too and some of them wouldn't put their kids in the school they teach at. One has taught in both public and private and says the methods being used in the private schools are 20 years old and were replaced with better methods by public school 15 years ago.

[gf2020]

I don't tend to agree with these annual surveys but here is the latest one...

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/n...lementary.html

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

These scores only measure socio-economics, not school quality. There are schools in my city where up to 50% of the kids are low income in some classes. These schools don't look good on these lists, until you realize that the non-economically disadvantaged kids beat our the majority of elementary schools in both Belmont and Lexington - more so this year than ever!

Cambridge?

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

These scores only measure socio-economics, not school quality. There are schools in my city where up to 50% of the kids are low income in some classes. These schools don't look good on these lists, until you realize that the non-economically disadvantaged kids beat our the majority of elementary schools in both Belmont and Lexington - more so this year than ever!

Great post, by the way.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

My son-in-law went to Buckingham, Brown & Nichols and my daughter only went to lowly public school and they still went to the same college.