Why does Banneker Elemntary rank so low on Great Schools 4/10? (Blue Ridge: real estate, 2015)

[NOVAdad2015]

Does anyone know how Great Schools determines the ratings for the elementary schools? We are looking at houses in Loudoun County. But, Banneker Elementary only ranks a 4/10.

The three parent reviews left have a 5/5 Also, strange is the schools that Banneker feeds into are highly rated (Blue Ridge Middle 8/10) and (Loudoun Valley High 8/10) usually it is the other way around.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[airjay75]

Greatschools ratings are basically a percentile rating of that school's performance on the state's standardized tests for the most recent school year. Nothing more, nothing less. So, a school with a 4 rating means roughly that 60% of elementary schools in VA scored better than that school and 40% scored lower than that school. The rating doesn't tell you anything about the why nor does it tell you whether the performance of students is homogenous or quite varied - i.e., are most students performing at about the 40th percentile or are there significant groups of students at both ends of the spectrum, both high and low performing.

[gomason]

It's a 6/10 FYI which really isn't bad for NOVA: Banneker Elementary School - Middleburg, Virginia - VA - School overview.

Part of it could be that there are poorer rural families out there? So much of test scores just reflect demographics. I know the city of Middleburg is quite wealthy itself but I'm not sure about surrounding areas.

[NOVAdad2015]

Thanks you! I was looking at Redfin, which pulls from GreatSchools, which must not have the updated information because it still says 4/10. I wonder if Banneker is turning things around.

I agree 6/10 for NOVA isn't bad. But, if the comparison is state wide it doesn't look as good especially in light of the resources in the county and the deviation from the high rankings with the middle school and high school.



https://www.redfin.com/school/159596...mentary-School

[airjay75]

Originally Posted by NOVAdad2015

I agree 6/10 for NOVA isn't bad. But, if the comparison is state wide it doesn't look as good especially in light of the resources in the county and the deviation from the high rankings with the middle school and high school.

Maybe, but you really just don't know. Not every school can be a 9 or a 10. When you are doing percentile rankings using test scores, even a very good school could be ranked a 5 if the state as a whole is doing a really great job of educating its students. And, even then, you are going to have detractors who think standardized tests is a poor way of measuring the quality of the school and its educators.

A percentile ranking in a vacuum really doesn't tell you much, in my opinion. The student population at the school could be one with a lot of challenges, but where the educators are doing a better job with such a population of students than one would expect. And, conversely, the student population could be a privileged one where the educators are doing a poorer job than one would expect and the students are not testing as well as they should. Or, the population might be exactly the mix you would expect at a school scoring a 6.

If you are motivated, you can dig a little deeper into the demographics of the school by looking at the percentage of students receiving free and reduced meals (an inelegant measure of poverty) as well as the percentage of students in need of English language services because they speak English as a second language. Then, you can compare the rating with other elementary schools with similar demographics and see how the school stacks up against those schools. You can also look at how kids at the elementary school of a similar socioeconomic status as your own are performing.

But, all of that is just going to be numbers and data on a piece of paper. It's not really going to tell you whether your child will excel or won't excel at that school. There are many factors that go into that equation, and that equation is likely to be different from family to family.

[FindingZen]

NOVAdad2015: Just an advisory, you should know that only generic MLS sites - e.g. realtor.com or MRISHomes.com - are allowed on the forum. Realtor-driven sites such as the one you referenced are considered "real estate advertising" which is not allowed per the Terms of Service. While it's obvious you're not a realtor, posting from such sites give them a free entree' into the forum. Thanks for your understanding.

[NOVAdad2015]

Tone509: Thank you I was unaware. I looked up how to edit but I guess I'm limited to 90 minutes after the post. Feel free to strike any reference in my comment to said site.

[jillybean720]

It's based JUST on test scores. The elementary school in my neighborhood in Loudoun bounced around from 6 to 4 to 8 in three consecutive years. I put very, very little stock in GreatSchools ratings. I put much more stock in what parent reviews say. It's so common to run to the internet with complaints, so if I see lots of positive parent reviews, I take that a huge positive (and I do mean actually read the reviews - some get angry and go on a tirade about something that would not impact my own children in any way).

[fcyolo]

I would do deeper analysis of any score under a 6 which is the average for virginia.