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Hi there. So, we're moving into the area and looking for neighborhood that has good schools.
My husband's job is on the northeast side of Raleigh so we're considering some of the North Raleigh neighborhoods like Bedford and Wakefield. We'll be renting for the first year or so then buying... probably looking for something in the mid 400,000 range.
So why are schools like Durant and Wakefield schools of progress? They seem like they should be performing better than that. Was it due to the bussing in of lower performing students? Is that bussing going to end and do you think the scores will improve?
In the past, we'd had less busing and it was a well known fact (as I'm sure it is in other areas) that the more desirable areas have the more desirable schools.
If the busing is done away with and students go back to n'hood schools, the more desirable n'hoods will have the more desirable schools. Makes sense.
However, since no one seems to KNOW what is going to happen, I'd suggest you'd be fine in North Raleigh, Cary, Wake Forest, Apex, etc.,
Ah, 'busing' is how it is spelled. Both ways seemed wrong to me so I went with the double s!
So no one knows what will happen? My husband tells me the return to neighborhood schools is a 'done deal' but perhaps he's trying to paint a rosy picture since I don't really want to move. Out here, people pay a lot of money for a less nice house because of the school to which that house is assigned. I've been around that my whole life so trying to wrap my brain around how it's done out there is difficult!
There is no way to know what effect the change in school assignments (which is a "done deal", but the details have not been worked out) will have for quite some time. Some schools will improve and others will decline--just an obvious fact when you shuffle the same students into different groups (schools); assuming the "average acheievement" remains the same for the county, the distribution of better/worse students (test scores, though I hate to boil it all down to that) will redistribute.
You're right, it's obvious no one could possibly predict how the test scores will change with the redistribution of students. When I said "no one knows what will happen?", I was more addressing the particular point of will the busing stop rather than how the test scores will change.
And you're right, a school shouldn't entirely be judged on test scores. Just when you see a distinct different by more than 15% of the kids not meeting grade level between schools, you just sort of wonder what is going on. I guess I'll send my husband out to the schools for tours and to talk to the staff to get the best picture.
I was more addressing the particular point of will the busing stop rather than how the test scores will change.
OK; I was just going by the title of the thread
The School Board has elected to redistrict for "neighborhood schools", so in theory, the long bus rides will be reduced as much as they are able to do. However, no concrete plans have been presented yet and the whole issue is still a very, very hot one--the fur is flying in a major way at school board meetings these days and this issue is nowhere near settled, let alone specifics mapped out.
I would suggest Googling (etc) "wake county school board" and following the articles intently. Nobody really knows exactly how it will shake down, for now.
This is just my personal opinion. I believe people give too much weight to the school achievements, or lack thereof, when making these decisions. I believe all the schools in the triangle are more or less the same. The end result is much more influenced by the motivation and drive of both the child and the parents, not overall school test scores of a school. A child can excel virtually anywhere in the triangle if the resources available to them are used to potential.
This is just my personal opinion. I believe people give too much weight to the school achievements, or lack thereof, when making these decisions. I believe all the schools in the triangle are more or less the same. The end result is much more influenced by the motivation and drive of both the child and the parents, not overall school test scores of a school. A child can excel virtually anywhere in the triangle if the resources available to them are used to potential.
Hi there. So, we're moving into the area and looking for neighborhood that has good schools.
My husband's job is on the northeast side of Raleigh so we're considering some of the North Raleigh neighborhoods like Bedford and Wakefield. We'll be renting for the first year or so then buying... probably looking for something in the mid 400,000 range.
So why are schools like Durant and Wakefield schools of progress? They seem like they should be performing better than that. Was it due to the bussing in of lower performing students? Is that bussing going to end and do you think the scores will improve?
So confusing...
The most important thing for parents to remember about test scores is that you child's individual result is what is most important. It does them no good to fail in a school where 90% pass and it does them no harm to pass in a school where only 60% do on first administration. It is the quality of the academic program you want to focus on regarding test scores. You may want to select schools based on test scores and other factors but you are best off getting to the root of it all. How good are the teachers and instructional program at the school.
Before you decide on what area to move to decide how you evaulate what a good school is. Test scores do not always equal good schools. For me a good school is one that encourages thought and provide students with the opportunity to engage in rich assignments such as projects, field trips, and science labs. Visit a school and see what the kids are doing. Are they just sitting at desks doing worksheets so they can get good test scores or are they actually learning by engaging themselves in activities.
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