Anyone use GreatSchools.net to check out schools? (Phoenix, Tucson: low income, apartment complex)

[Rawhide Kid]

We made a big mistake about 5 years ago in selecting where to live. Now we are looking to move further west valley-ish near the in-laws (Litchfield Park area) but want to ensure that the schools our kids (8,6,5,2 - yup, we're nutz) go to are solid.

I've looked at greatschools.net for ratings, and like how it is setup. Anyone else use this site? Likes, dislikes, trust, don't trust? Any other websites you've used with school ratings/recommendations?

thx!

[azkylady2]

Originally Posted by Rawhide Kid

We made a big mistake about 5 years ago in selecting where to live. Now we are looking to move further west valley-ish near the in-laws (Litchfield Park area) but want to ensure that the schools our kids (8,6,5,2 - yup, we're nutz) go to are solid.

I've looked at greatschools.net for ratings, and like how it is setup. Anyone else use this site? Likes, dislikes, trust, don't trust? Any other websites you've used with school ratings/recommendations?

thx!

I think it is pretty accurate in its asessments. I have checked out schools in other states that I already knew were under warning and also the ones I knew personally that were top schools, the information always matched with Greatschools . I like how they assign their own score based on stats for the whole school. Also, you can read actual parent reviews for any school your are considering, I would trust the site to help with any decision I had to make about where to live for the best educational options for my child.

[GilaMonster]

You have to use the website with some caution. I relied on it when I chose our new home, because a good school district was very important to us. Now that I am living there I wanted to post a couple of negative things about my kids' school. The website refused to post the remarks. The same happened to several other parents, one of them actually got so upset that she contacted the website's owners. Their reply basically stated that they don't like negative postings and that they extremely filter them.

Bottom line: the schools appear to have a better reputation than in reality. Take the glorifying postings of happy parents with a big grain of salt!

This year we have transferred our kids to a much better school nearby. That school doesn't exist on greatschools, even though it is a public school.

So for a really thorough comparison you should rather use the official state department of education websites.

[Ponderosa]

All you need to do to check out schools in Phoenix or Tucson is look at two demographics - median income and "diversity". If the median income is high and the diversity is low then it's a good school. It's disgraceful but true: with few if any exceptions poor areas and high non-English speaking areas have atrocious schools while the affluent areas have good schools. Outside of the two big cities, it is harder because the schools serve wider geographic areas where the demographics are more mixed. Greatschools might be of more use there.

[ibarrio]

I think it is pretty accurate in its asessments.

Any medium that allows opinions is susceptible to disgruntled people airing out their dirty laundry. Is there good info? Yes....But there is also a ton of the former...Kids get suspended...kids get cut from sports team..and so on...

[KK85297]

It actually allowed me to post a pretty harsh negative review of our neighborhood school (negative but honest, I may add!). We also erred in choosing our neighborhood school and are moving this summer to correct the error. I think it's a good site overall, but as a previous poster said you have to take the complaints with a grain of salt. Plenty of people nag and moan over issues that may really be THEIR issues and not those of the school. If you read many and see a pattern of problems, it's probably the school! If there are 20 glowing reviews and one parent says that "the principle (sic!) and teacherz is problmz" you can probably guess where the problem lies!!!!

I find the reading very insightful and often humorous on greatschools

[rogetsthesaurus]

I agree with "neutrality" issues and bias...take everything with a grain of salt...for instance, on apartmentratings.com, almost every apartment in Phoenix has negative ratings...I can find only one or two that have nothing but positive ratings...what that says is "every apartment complex might will have problems" - this is not amazingly relevatory information. Often times they are a way to let people vent.

Also check out ratemyteacher.com - it is part of a larger network of ratemyprofessor.com, etc.

[azkylady2]

Originally Posted by GilaMonster

You have to use the website with some caution. I relied on it when I chose our new home, because a good school district was very important to us. Now that I am living there I wanted to post a couple of negative things about my kids' school. The website refused to post the remarks. The same happened to several other parents, one of them actually got so upset that she contacted the website's owners. Their reply basically stated that they don't like negative postings and that they extremely filter them.

Bottom line: the schools appear to have a better reputation than in reality. Take the glorifying postings of happy parents with a big grain of salt!

This year we have transferred our kids to a much better school nearby. That school doesn't exist on greatschools, even though it is a public school.

So for a really thorough comparison you should rather use the official state department of education websites.

The upset and angry parent's are usually the ones that do post. no school will be a fit for every child, but I think its nice to be able to see how a school is performing.

[crewbank]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

All you need to do to check out schools in Phoenix or Tucson is look at two demographics - median income and "diversity". If the median income is high and the diversity is low then it's a good school. It's disgraceful but true: with few if any exceptions poor areas and high non-English speaking areas have atrocious schools while the affluent areas have good schools. Outside of the two big cities, it is harder because the schools serve wider geographic areas where the demographics are more mixed. Greatschools might be of more use there.

Harsh, but true generally, Ponderosa. It all comes down to property taxes. Rich white people pay a lot, so schools are loaded. Poor "diverse" communities have less revenue. However, a cautionary note...many large, rich schools (Mountain View, Corona del Sol, etc.) may place a lot of Ivy Leaguers, but they also have high drug usages stats, suicides, etc. Columbine was a really great school, too. Rich white people are frequently entitled jerks. Poor brown people frequently don't have time to watch their kids and keep them out of trouble. I am white (mostly), but went to a very "diverse" school. I felt very safe, got a good education, and now own a successful business and am applying to medical school. Visit a school with your kid before you buy in. That's all I'm saying.

[Rawhide Kid]

Honestly, I don't know if median income and quality of schools is perfectly correlated. In fact, I swear I've seen some studies (ugh...sorta for vague reference) that indicates they are not connected - or at least only connected in the extreme situations. Many good schools exist in areas of low income. However, I do think that schools with high percentages of children that have english as a second language suffer. How can teachers teach when half their class doesn't speak english? I can't imagine how difficult that must be.

I also agree that schools have different problems no matter what the median income is. I've seen this myself - richer schools have richer problems - drugs, thugs (rather than gangs) and very snobby click's.

It's tough all over.