Greatschools 8 vs. Greatschools 10 for elementary school

[Anonymous]

More research and visiting the schools could definitely help. Even just searching for the school names on the DCUM Maryland (Virginia) Public Schools forum would give you a better idea. But assuming you had no time to do research, I still would not put much store into the difference between an 8 and a 10. Now if your kids were already late elementary age and the 8 school fed into a 6 high school, but the 10 school fed into a 9 high school, that might give me pause.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Kids are almost 4 and 1. Before they were born we bought in an area that has gone from middle class to mix of middle and upper middle class. The 10 school feeds into much better middle school and high school, but that is far away and dH and I disagree as to whether we need to move sooner or later. Prices in both negohborhoods seem unsustainable. We have done tours but they both seemed good. More biglaw type parents and white/Asian families at the 10 school.

[Anonymous]

Don't go to GreatSchools. Instead, go to SchoolDigger.com and look up the scores, demographics, and free lunch data. That's really all you need to make a decision on a school.

[Anonymous]

Which middle and high schools? Moving from an 8 to a 10 isn't worth it. Look at high schools and work backwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't give much credit to Great Schools scores in general, but I give even less care to the difference between an 8 and a 10. Both of these are going to be strong schools, with the 10 likely just having a few more parents of a very high socio-economic status, or something like an AAP program that pulls up the average test scores.

If you've got it narrowed down to just two, I suggest trying to visit them and see which school actually feels like a better fit for your kids.

OP, this is good advice. Web site ratings and comments can be pretty outdated. And a difference of 8 versus 10 on some web site run by people who may or may not know what YOU value in a school and neighborhood is no yardstick to use when choosing things as important as a home and a school.

Absolutely visit both schools, preferably more than once if you can. Try to see if you can observe any classes in the grade in which your kid(s) would start. Ask to be put in touch with the PTA so you can call or even see someone from PTA to ask questions. (We had a choice between two middle schools and the PTA at one school really reached out to families like ours to dispel some myths about the school that we did eventually choose--it was a big help.)

When time for HS came, we visited two different high schools and the visits also made a huge difference in the choice, whereas had we just gone by things like Great Schools and, frankly, boards on DCUM, we might have made a different choice --and it would have been the wrong one, I think.

[Anonymous]

I would go to the neighborhood where your kids will feel the most comfortable. We looked at elementary and high schools when we picked our house. Middle schools are just part of the package, IMO. We decided that we did not want to relocate during our kids' K-12 years so it was important for us that the neighborhood had what we needed (walk-able neighborhood, safe, convenient, neighborhood pool, close to our religious school, etc.). I would pick the place location where your kids are more likely to fit in, make friends, have intellectual peers. I don't think an 8 vs a 10 is that big a deal.

[Anonymous]

I would go to the neighborhood where your kids will feel the most comfortable. We looked at elementary and high schools when we picked our house. Middle schools are just part of the package, IMO. We decided that we did not want to relocate during our kids' K-12 years so it was important for us that the neighborhood had what we needed (walk-able neighborhood, safe, convenient, neighborhood pool, close to our religious school, etc.). I would pick the place location where your kids are more likely to fit in, make friends, have intellectual peers. I don't think an 8 vs a 10 is that big a deal.

Agree. We didn't think we would live in our house as long as we have. Our kids were babies and I did want a nearby elementary school--but high schools were the last thing on our minds. As it turned out, we were extremely happy with our high school, but it should be a factor when you make your choice. Do be advised, though, that boundaries do change.

[Anonymous]

In many cases the great school number changes each year. Ours has gone from an 8 to a 9 and it wouldn't surprise me if it changed again. Don't make a decision based on those numbers!

[Anonymous]

I would always go to the "better" school but I don't think an 8 versus a 10 actually indicates which is better. Those scores fluctuate each year, and a different ranking may have them differently.

I went to a very good high school. When I look at "best high schools in America" rankings, that high school, depending on the ranking, falls anywhere between in the top 5 nationwide and just inside the top 500. There are so many schools out there that minute changes in methodology completely rework an individual school's ranking.

[Anonymous]

OP -- this is like slicing and dicing a molecule. An 8 and a 10 school obviously have high SES kids. Do you like a little diversity (racial or economic) with your high SES classmates? If so, you might value the 8 school over the 10. This is definitely a First World problem when debating whether an 8 is good enough for your kids or whether they must go to a 10 school!

R-E-L-A-X!

[Anonymous]

My kids are very happy and doing quite well at a school with a greatschools rating of 2. Imagine that.

I don't put any stock in the greatschools ratings. Talk to parents at the school you're considering. Go sit in on a PTA meeting.

[Anonymous]

OP again. There is a big dropoff at middle school/high school. Greatschools 5 vs. Greatschools 9-10. There are gifted options for the worse ranked school but we won't know whether our kids qualify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are very happy and doing quite well at a school with a greatschools rating of 2. Imagine that.

I don't put any stock in the greatschools ratings. Talk to parents at the school you're considering. Go sit in on a PTA meeting.

enrolled at greatschool rate 8 a few years back from a 6.

The 6 was DCPS elementary and was a great school.
The 8 was a charter (k-8) and was horrible.

Just because it's 8 or 10 does not mean much in DC. MD or VA might be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are very happy and doing quite well at a school with a greatschools rating of 2. Imagine that.

I don't put any stock in the greatschools ratings. Talk to parents at the school you're considering. Go sit in on a PTA meeting.

2 is not good.

I would say anything 8-10 is very good and pretty much the same.

7 is good too but warrants further research but anything lower is bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are very happy and doing quite well at a school with a greatschools rating of 2. Imagine that.

I don't put any stock in the greatschools ratings. Talk to parents at the school you're considering. Go sit in on a PTA meeting.

enrolled at greatschool rate 8 a few years back from a 6.

The 6 was DCPS elementary and was a great school.
The 8 was a charter (k-8) and was horrible.

Just because it's 8 or 10 does not mean much in DC. MD or VA might be different.

I believe in DC the 10s are probably the same as the 5 or 6 in viginia or maryland. Look at schooldigger to compare across school systems.