What constitutes a 'bad school'?

[Anonymous]

My wife and I have a two year old and are considering buying in the District, where we have lived for the past 8 years. On our salaries, we are looking at areas like H St., Brookland, Takoma, Waterfront, etc. We are still getting our minds around public schools and charters, lotteries, etc. and it's proving very confusing. Luckily, we have a few years to get familiar with it all.

However I feel like we need a point of reference when it comes to discussions of 'bad schools'. In the District, by and large, when someone refers to a school as 'bad', are we talking about minority-prevalence, poor standardized test scores, or violence and drugs?

Before you answer, please consider we're not one of those couples who wants to shield our precious 'snowflake' from every evil in the world. We're totally fine with minority-prevalence, and we can stand bad teaching. But we want to exercise good judgment before we make a decision that could put our daughter in physical harm. We just have no idea what's coded in the term 'bad school' in DC and would like some insights from those in the know.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I expect that "bad school" means "nobody I know sends their children there".

[Anonymous]

On this board and in general, when people say a school is "bad" they mean that the student population is "bad" as in low pass rate on standardized tests. That typically corresponds strongly with the FARMS (free and reduced meals) rate (which is a povery indicator), and to a lesser extent -- the percent of minority kids.

Around here, a school that has an average pass rate is typically considered "bad" b/c there is probably a wealthier school not too far down the road that has tippy top pass rates. In the rest of the US, an average pass rate is not necessarily the death nell that it is here.

I always encourage people to look at the details on the test scores. Is the school ranked in the middle of the state for pass rates (i.e. "average") b/c it has a mixture of high performers and low performers -- which therefore looks like it's "average"? Are there subgroups within a school. that are performing well? That would lead you to infer that kids without impediments (language learners, poverty, limited resources) are able to learn based on the teaching at that school.

The things you don't want to compromise on are (1) safety, (2) teacher having control of the classroom/behavior, (3) teachers being prepared and ready to teach, (4) adminstration that is respected by the teachers, and (5) a social culture that is a good influence on your child (i.e. kids you want your kids to have as friends). Sometimes those things aren't found in the "bad" schools b/c high poverty schools may be overwhelmed with just getting the kids fed. It's not that people who avoid high-poverty schools are bigotted... but you have to feel comfortable that the teachers will have time to deal with your kids and not just spend their time dealing with behavior problems. On the flip side, some high poverty schools (Title I schools) can be great b/c they have much smaller class sizes (extra funding). Only those who know the school from the inside can tell you if a particular Title I school makes an effort to stimulate the top kids or just spends all their time bringing lower performing kids up to speed.

[Anonymous]

Great to not consider your child a snowflake, but don't stand for bad teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I have a two year old and are considering buying in the District, where we have lived for the past 8 years. On our salaries, we are looking at areas like H St., Brookland, Takoma, Waterfront, etc. We are still getting our minds around public schools and charters, lotteries, etc. and it's proving very confusing. Luckily, we have a few years to get familiar with it all.

However I feel like we need a point of reference when it comes to discussions of 'bad schools'. In the District, by and large, when someone refers to a school as 'bad', are we talking about minority-prevalence, poor standardized test scores, or violence and drugs?

Before you answer, please consider we're not one of those couples who wants to shield our precious 'snowflake' from every evil in the world. We're totally fine with minority-prevalence, and we can stand bad teaching. But we want to exercise good judgment before we make a decision that could put our daughter in physical harm. We just have no idea what's coded in the term 'bad school' in DC and would like some insights from those in the know.

Thanks!

So glad that you don't mind minorities -- we are quite relieved.
SMH

[Anonymous]

http://www.greatschools.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.greatschools.org/

Bad schools are the red ones! I just want high acheiving kids, don't care about their color or SES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.greatschools.org/

This is a terrible resource, actually, OP. Skip it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great to not consider your child a snowflake, but don't stand for bad teaching.

Yes, why would you stand for bad teaching?

[Anonymous]

Totally serious question here: Why would you even consider information that you have what you readily admitted was "coded" language? Who cares what other people consider to be "bad"? If you have a list of priorities in terms of your child's future educational goals, shouldn't you be asking about which schools demonstrate, encourage, etc. those specific things? If there are specific things you want to avoid, would you not list those and look for schools that do not have those?
Why ask a group of strangers what is "bad" and what they mean when they say "bad". Seems like a monumental waste of time, that will gain you no real concrete information.

[Anonymous]

Is this a troll?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.greatschools.org/

This is a terrible resource, actually, OP. Skip it.

why? It uses test scores and will give you insight into the demographic and FARM rates of each school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.greatschools.org/

This is a terrible resource, actually, OP. Skip it.

why? It uses test scores and will give you insight into the demographic and FARM rates of each school.

Because FARMS rates and test scores do not give you a complete or, truth be told, picture.
It just tells you how well the kids test and how many of them are poor.
As a parent I want more information than that, but hey maybe that is just me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.greatschools.org/

This is a terrible resource, actually, OP. Skip it.

why? It uses test scores and will give you insight into the demographic and FARM rates of each school.

Because FARMS rates and test scores do not give you a complete or, truth be told, picture.
It just tells you how well the kids test and how many of them are poor.
As a parent I want more information than that, but hey maybe that is just me.

I agree that it's a terrible resource. If you just want a school that is teaching to the tests, then maybe it's a good one...but for someone who actually wants to know about whether a school has an active PTA, a community feel, administrators who are warm, approachable, and respected by parents and teachers, etc--it's a terrible resource.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.greatschools.org/

This is a terrible resource, actually, OP. Skip it.

why? It uses test scores and will give you insight into the demographic and FARM rates of each school.

Because FARMS rates and test scores do not give you a complete or, truth be told, picture.
It just tells you how well the kids test and how many of them are poor.
As a parent I want more information than that, but hey maybe that is just me.

I agree that it's a terrible resource. If you just want a school that is teaching to the tests, then maybe it's a good one...but for someone who actually wants to know about whether a school has an active PTA, a community feel, administrators who are warm, approachable, and respected by parents and teachers, etc--it's a terrible resource.

yea...this