How do you know if a public school is good?

Question

We have a child who will be school age in a few years. We're wondering if we should stay in our neighborhood, where the public schools are pretty good, or move to a nearby area where they're excellent. The trouble is that those ratings are based on standardized tests, and the "excellent" area populated by the type of parents who value education and help their children do well. So I don't know if the school itself is any better, or if it's just the parents. If it's the parents, we can do that ourselves without moving anywhere. How can I evaluate the schools?

Answer 1

Check teacher/student ratio, new teacher turn over/long term teachers and the same for prin. and superintendent, teachers with BA/Masters, ethnic ratio,financial stats of students,school finances and funding, etc. Specialized classes for gifted and talented-spec.ed. -reading resource- science mini camps or weekly program for students gifted in science. Will art, music, & band and computers be weekly, biweekly, 1/2 sem., full yr., PE requirements and do they really have a disciplined schedule?,tutoring, library, aides with HS diploma/ged/college, grading system( as a teacher I had to give every student a base of 50% even if they just put their name!So they really could pass with only 20% of the knowledge that the school/state required. It wasn't a good measurement of their learning or an effective way to teach them.),school testing, counciling, nurses/meds procedure, safety & procedures for incoming and outgoing students each day, restroom procedure- are students going alone and where is it located, students walk alone in halls or with teacher/aid to other classes or lunch or recess, lock up proceedure for emerg, are parents allowed in the classroom and how undesireables are kept out, textbooks up to date and have plenty for all students, supplies in general, how the prin. handles reg. discipline and how they discipline students who make it unsafe for all children, classroom disciplineprocedure, parent/teacher communication schedule, parent activities to join, and then you may know enough to make a satisfactory decision. Good luck and it is nice to see a family interested AND acting in their child's best interests. Please don't go by standardized test scores because they don't reflect what the child is learning at school, just how well the test was taught (and learned by the kids ). Most of those tests are designed for the perfect classroom filled with technology,in a rich neighborhood, low student/teacher ratio (10-14 /1), with classroom aides in every class, one level of students in each classroom (so the slow won't hold back the ave. or gifted or get left behind because the teacher only has so much time to teach so she teaches to ave. students), teachers with Masters or above that really care, have many teaching methods & are paid well to stay(also bonuses & incentives).

Answer 2

As a teacher and a parent, I honestly feel that a child get get an excellent education at almost any good school. Obviously not schools that are in the bottom of the list when comparing standardized tests, but regualr, good schools. I believe the biggest indicator of a child's success is the parent. Most people talk about looking for the school that has the most rigorous curriculum or expectations. But I would like to throw out another viewpoint. Recently there have been many articles and a lot of research done regarding the downside of some of the most prestigious schools. Parents are tired of their child having 4-5 hours of homework in elementary school and so much stress on both the child and parents. Parents complain about having no family time, reports and projects taking up all of their evenings and weekends. I would take this into consideration as well. If this is the type of school you would be going to by moving, is it what you really want for you and your child? I truly believe that a motivated child with a supportive, involved parent will get as good an education in a less than spectacular school.

I live in an average neighborhood with schools that have less than the highest rated schools. My son is in high school and has had an excellent education and scores above average in all his state assessment tests. His feeling is the same as mine, The reason the schools are not rated as high is because of the lazy, unmotivated students.

Answer 3

a problem with standardized tests is that some schools promote the use of the test as a teaching guide. Teachers will teach so that the children score well in the test which gives an untrue result. I personally would stay in the neighbourhood. Friendships are valuable as well as good grades. The money you would spend to move could be put away for your child's future education. The parents have a lot to do with the success of the children providing the child has the potential to do well in the academics. Read to your child, stimulate the curiosity, and above all, spend time with your child doing things and talking with your child.

Answer 4

Some schools only teach what is on the standardized tests, so the students do better than the schools that have a wider range of education. So I wouldn't go by that. You should visit both schools for a day so that you can evaluate the students. Also, see what the budgets are. Poor schools have less to work with. Good luck with this though!

Answer 5

Ask to go on tours or show up to visit the school for band performances, book fairs, etc. See if you have a friend whose kids go there that you can ask questions about and also tag along to events. Look for cleanliness and orderliness. Look for teachers interacting with the kids, not just sitting at desks while kids work on their own for long periods of time. Do the kids go on field trips? Are there volunteer opportunities for parents in the library, front office, walk athons, field day, etc. Watch how teachers interact. Are they patient with each other? Does the school feel tense and stressful? You can learn a lot by going and observing. School scores are a pretty good indicator of caring about behavior (which has a high influence on grades) and attendance. Ask about special programs after school such as art camp, science club, tutoring, etc. Think about the type of teacher your child needs: gentle and loving, organized and thorough, strict disciplinarian (be careful on that one....teacher may be assigned a room full of kids with problems), etc. Talk to the school staff about placement of your child with the right style of teacher, not a name you've heard, but that has the traits that would help your child learn best. Always be involved in your kids school!

Answer 6

I believe it is a combination of both school ranking and parental involvement. I would handle this situation by getting to know the parents and students who attend the schools in question. I would also become involved in the school to learn about the people who are leading it. A "good" school can only be as strong as the people who run it and you want to ensure those people are upholding the values, morals and educational standards you want for your child. The best way to evaluate that is to get to know them.

Answer 7

Depending on the state you are in, there are websites that tell you about the test scores, income level, crime rate and other things that determine the school's rating. I am not sure how it works in your state but in Indiana they rate public school systems by 1-4 stars. I reccomend going to a school system where there are good parents and they say is an excellent school system. It will make a difference! I promise!

Answer 8

When looking at a school from your perspective it may be interesting to look at the environment created by the parents and teachers at each school. Perhaps you'll find that the "excellent" scchool is one that creates a more challenging and supportive environment. In which case your actions at home are upheld while the child is at school. So I say visit them, talk to the teachers, do a little first hand research.

Answer 9

If you're living in the state of California, you can bet it is not good. I live in an upscale neighborhood, in one of the best school districts in the state and I send my son to private. I have friends who live in RI and NJ and both of them supplement their child's education at home.

If you want your child to have a chance at one of the top universities, you are either going to have to go private or supplement his/her education. Stanford and Johns Hopkins both have excellent programs for reading and math to help you do this. They're expensive, but not as expensive as private school.

There is also a great program you can start at home called Math 24. You can order it through Amazon or Creative Teaching Supplies. You can also consider home school, if you're up for that. I wasn't and I wanted my son to have the social experience as well as a good education.

Initially, I was hesitant about sending my son to this school because of our income level. We are a middle class family and we don't allow him a lot of the privilages that many of his classmates have such as Gameboys, lavish birthday parties,etc. I have been pleasantly surprised that many of the other parents have similar philosophies.

What the public schools lack that our school offers are the arts and sciences. Our school offers music, computer, we have a ceramics kiln and our science teacher has won teacher of the year for the past seven years in the state. Our students consistently rank in the top three in state science fair competitions and being close to UCSD, that is important.

It truly is a jungle out there. I remember too well going through the same thing you're going through now.
Good luck!

Answer 10

Talk to the parents. Don't go by the standardized tests. Also, you can always request being aloud to "sit in" on a class or two to evaluate the interactions between teachers and students.