Academic in school

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to evaluate how a school performs academically? I mean, aside from their reputation, is there a way to really assess how strong their curriculum is and how well they teach kids? I’ve heard that some expensive private schools in the area have curriculums that are behind DCPS.

[Anonymous]

The best of this information is under lock and key.

That being said, you generally can get curricula and reading lists, sometimes including suggested summer reading.

A large number of high schools will provide SAT scores, including 25th/75th percentile, but this has its limitations -- Fancy Day School's children (tuition: $40,000) probably score higher than Storefront Baptist Academy's (tuition $10,000), but Storefront Baptist may, in fact, be doing a much better job with their raw material. Or maybe they aren't: you can't tell from the SAT alone, especially for a test that explicitly is trying to measure potential, not content knowledge. But at least it gives you some idea of peer group capability, which isn't nothing.

K-8... I guess you can make a request. It's possible that, say, individual schools or even the Arlington diocese would be willing to cough up HSPT scores. Never seen them, but I'm sure the data exists somewhere.

[Anonymous]

It can be hard to tell. We paid close attention on school tours. One can learn some things.

We paid attention to what teachers had written on their whiteboards, which math, science, history, or other textbooks were in use. We looked for evidence of Chromebooks or laptops being used in elementary grades. And so on.

When touring the lower school of a K-8 frequently mentioned here, we saw 3-cueing instructions on the whiteboard and Fountas & Pinnell “reading” books. Then the tour guide talked about teaching reading and composition using Reader’s Workshop and Writer’s Workshop.

We did not say a word, but dropped that school from our candidate list like a rock. (Listen to the “Sold A Story” podcast if wondering why we did that.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a way to evaluate how a school performs academically? I mean, aside from their reputation, is there a way to really assess how strong their curriculum is and how well they teach kids? I’ve heard that some expensive private schools in the area have curriculums that are behind DCPS.

DCPS varies WIDELY from one school to another. I cannot believe ANY local private is behind Stanton Elementary, where we volunteer.

[Anonymous]

At the end of the day, the situation of the child who walks in the door has more impact than any curriculum. Teachers and methods will change while your child is in school. But a healthy child from well educated parents with resources for things like music lessons will outperform the very best curriculum or teacher of a kid who doesn’t have that.
What I’m trying to say is find a community and philosophy you like but don’t overthink it beyond that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, the situation of the child who walks in the door has more impact than any curriculum. Teachers and methods will change while your child is in school. But a healthy child from well educated parents with resources for things like music lessons will outperform the very best curriculum or teacher of a kid who doesn’t have that.
What I’m trying to say is find a community and philosophy you like but don’t overthink it beyond that.

Well-said.