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We will be visiting Westchester County this coming week to look at homes in the following school districts: Irvington, Ardsley, Hastings, Eastchester, Pleasantville & Croton.
After reading all of the (somewhat heated) discussions on these boards, I am really confused about the mixed reviews for Eastchester schools. Currently the Greatschools website has the Eastchester district ranked at a 10 - how is this possible if the SAT scores are supposedly so mediocre?? By contrast, Ardsley and Irvington are ranked 9, Hastings and Croton are 8, and Dobbs is 7 (Pleasantville is 10 also).
Does this all mean that website rankings are useless? HELP!
Pretty close to useless at times. Those scores are based solely on passing rates of very basic proficiency tests. Some schools are able to boost their proficiency rates with intense test prep. 3rd graders not really learning reading or math in a broad way, but instead spending hours filling in bubbles in practice tests.
There are often school districts that find ways to superficially boost ratings.
For example, according to one prominent study, Yonkers was rated best high school in the county. I meN no offense to Yonkers. .. But come on.
What they did, was really push huge portions of students to take 1 supposed college level class, which boosted their ratings very quickly in a very short time.
Before someone gets mad at me, I am not saying Eastchester schools are poor. They have a pretty solid reputation overall. I am just saying to take those scores with a huge grain of salt.
The other issue with Yonkers is that all of the city's schools are magnet schools, so Yonkers High, which offers an International Baccalaureate program (including uniforms and a code of conduct), ranks higher on standardized tests. Since the students at Yonkers High are consolidated from the other schools in the city, it explains the large achievement gap between this school and others in Yonkers.
Eastchester, in contrast, does not have that issue, and the town has three school districts: Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe, that serve a smaller population. Eastchester is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, I agree. It's a solid district that performs well in terms of foundations in education. The population is not as achievement-focused, as a way of life, as some other districts in the area, and it does offer a well-rounded education. A motivated student will do perfectly well in Eastchester in comparison to the other districts that you're considering.
Thanks everyone. I just wanted to make sure that Eastchester wasn't a significantly weak link among the districts we are considering (understanding that the other schools are a notch or more above). I believe it's also the biggest of the lot, which will be a factor in our decision as well.
Interestingly, greatschools has all 3 Eastchester districts at a 10, and the site does state that this is based on test scores. I had always assumed that college entrance exams were part of that, not just state standard tests, so that info is good to know. Thanks again!
Bronxville is one of the most prestigious towns and schools. Very wealthy, old money, zero diversity.
Tuckahoe is a smaller area, schools have a good reputation, but I don't know a ton.
Eastchester has more of a working class reputation. Not a ton of diversity. While there are certainly expensive homes, it doesn't have the reputation of being "rich.".
I have heard some good things about Eastchester schools. But I also know some young Garth road families (Scarsdale po, Eastchester schools), who intend to move when their kids are school age.
Finally, greatschools does not consider college placement or entrance exams. It is simply a handful of very basic proficiency exams. As a result, a school with a 10 often is really no better than a school with a 7. But I would certainly avoid a school with a 3.
Last edited by havoc315; 04-10-2009 at 05:53 PM..
Reason: Additional info
If you want a more in-depth look at school test performance results by way of numbers, percentages and graphs, take a look at the annual NY state school report cards to get a solid idea of how demographics tie into test scores. Here are links to 3 Westchester schools with particularly useful numerical info on pp. 13 -21 for each school report. You can find your way to info on the other schools off your list by going to
https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/County.do?year=2007&county=WESTCHESTER (broken link)
These scores are good indicators of how kids will perfom on future standardized tests including SATs. Looking way ahead, keep in mind that the standards of grading students (A through F and eventually the GPA) will depend on a school's own definition of difficulty and challenge especially when you get to middle and high school. That can be seen as a good thing when kids begin applying to colleges and when an "A" in World History from Bronxville will mean a different caliber of difficulty than an "A" in World History from a lower performing high school.
Also, a school's scores are very much a reflection of parental involvement and uniformity (or lack thereof). This includes their education, background, and ideals where socioeconomics and discipline have a big effect on overall test results.
You might consider looking at the current issue of the Westchester Magazine Ranking. Actually Yonker schools got ranked better than both Edgemont and Scarsdale. I think every magazine uses a different ranking system. It all depends on what you are looking for in a school? Eastchester is a good school system, it is more of a mid-size school. Talk with your real estate agent, they should know about the school districts more.
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