How to choose an elementary school. By "tracking" or intangibles?

[Anonymous]

My DS will enter kindergarten next fall. We are choosing between two public schools that are very similar to each other in size and resources. The major difference is that starting in third grade School 1 differentiates kids by level for academic subjects and they switch teachers/classrooms (though gym, art, etc. are with mixed homeroom groups). School 2 does not have kids switch classrooms but says that the teachers design lesson plans to teach to different levels within the classrooms.

I grew up in a School 1 so that is my baseline, but the principal of School 2 swears by her method. I expect that DS would be in the most advanced group, but don't know that.

Both schools score highly on Great Schools.

School 1 is slightly more diverse across race and SES, but not substantially more.

School 1 has a fantastic playground.

School 2 has a newer building, more light and generaly nicer.

They feed into the same middle and high schools.

Which would you choose and why? (They are not in this area, so naming them doesn't matter). Or are they equal and we should buy the house we like slightly better? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You talk about schools, but then throw in a house on the end - what is the real issue you are trying to solve for?

[Anonymous]

Are you choosing between two public schools, or are you choosing between two houses that are zoned for those two public schools?

[Anonymous]

Our experience has been that differentiation in the classroom doesn't work very well in general because not all teachers are skilled at it or committed to it. Kids who are outliers do not get appropriate attention. If you think your kid(s) may be an outlier in either direction, I would go with the school that has groupings by levels.

[Anonymous]

What public school in the DC area tracks by ability in K?

And OP, huge eye roll on this one: " I expect that DS would be in the most advanced group, but don't know that."

[Anonymous]

it's a tough choice because if you pick the school with tracking and your child doesn't end up in the higher end of the class than you lose out.

Being in brilliant in K btw is not a good measure and many kids who are brilliant in K will stop being brilliant by 3rd grade because the learning environment and demands change and deficient that were attributed to immaturity give way to real diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it's a tough choice because if you pick the school with tracking and your child doesn't end up in the higher end of the class than you lose out.

Being in brilliant in K btw is not a good measure and many kids who are brilliant in K will stop being brilliant by 3rd grade because the learning environment and demands change and deficient that were attributed to immaturity give way to real diagnosis.

Education researchers agree on this! Grade 3/4 is when true intelligence starts to emerge. Here is one article I was able to find but there are many more out there...
http://nymag.com/news/features/63427/

[Anonymous]

Buy the house you like better.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

I'm sorry my first post was unclear. We are moving to the area of these two schools and I don't know whether we should focus our housing search on 1) one school zone exclusively, 2) both zones but lean towards one if we are choosing between houses in each zone, or 3) both zones and buy a house in either zone based on the homes and not on the schools.

To 10:55:
Please re-read my post. I did not write that they begin tracking in kindergarten. I wrote that my DS will be in kindergarten and they begin tracking in third grade. I also wrote that the schools are not in this area. I included my child's age and the fact that he hasn't started school as an acknowledgment that I don't know where he will fall in terms of ability compared to his peers in the new area. I do have some idea where he falls in his current full-day pre-K class of 20 kids in this area and compared to kids we know who are not in his class and/or do not live in this area.

I acknowledge that grade 3/4 is when true abilities start to emerge. That is why they start tracking in third grade and not kindergarten. But I don't want to move in 4 years unless it is necessary, so I would like to think through this decision to the extent possible now.

Also, even if DS is not in the highest group, the tracked school might be the best choice because he would get more attention at his level. On the other hand, there are arguments that on-level or below-level kids benefit from learning with kids who are ahead of level.

I would appreciate BTDT experience from parents of children with varying strengths and who were in one type of classroom, the other type, or even tried both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I'm sorry my first post was unclear. We are moving to the area of these two schools and I don't know whether we should focus our housing search on 1) one school zone exclusively, 2) both zones but lean towards one if we are choosing between houses in each zone, or 3) both zones and buy a house in either zone based on the homes and not on the schools.

To 10:55:
Please re-read my post. I did not write that they begin tracking in kindergarten. I wrote that my DS will be in kindergarten and they begin tracking in third grade. I also wrote that the schools are not in this area. I included my child's age and the fact that he hasn't started school as an acknowledgment that I don't know where he will fall in terms of ability compared to his peers in the new area. I do have some idea where he falls in his current full-day pre-K class of 20 kids in this area and compared to kids we know who are not in his class and/or do not live in this area.

I acknowledge that grade 3/4 is when true abilities start to emerge. That is why they start tracking in third grade and not kindergarten. But I don't want to move in 4 years unless it is necessary, so I would like to think through this decision to the extent possible now.

Also, even if DS is not in the highest group, the tracked school might be the best choice because he would get more attention at his level. On the other hand, there are arguments that on-level or below-level kids benefit from learning with kids who are ahead of level.

I would appreciate BTDT experience from parents of children with varying strengths and who were in one type of classroom, the other type, or even tried both.

This would not likely happen. The attention and focus is on the lowest performers. The students in the middle - they are the ones who get very little attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Also, even if DS is not in the highest group, the tracked school might be the best choice because he would get more attention at his level. On the other hand, there are arguments that on-level or below-level kids benefit from learning with kids who are ahead of level.

The latter. Tracking is great for kids in the highest group. It's not great for the other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's a tough choice because if you pick the school with tracking and your child doesn't end up in the higher end of the class than you lose out.

Being in brilliant in K btw is not a good measure and many kids who are brilliant in K will stop being brilliant by 3rd grade because the learning environment and demands change and deficient that were attributed to immaturity give way to real diagnosis.

Education researchers agree on this! Grade 3/4 is when true intelligence starts to emerge. Here is one article I was able to find but there are many more out there...
http://nymag.com/news/features/63427/

Too bad kids aren't tested (CogAt, etc.) in grade 4 rather than grade 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Also, even if DS is not in the highest group, the tracked school might be the best choice because he would get more attention at his level. On the other hand, there are arguments that on-level or below-level kids benefit from learning with kids who are ahead of level.

The latter. Tracking is great for kids in the highest group. It's not great for the other kids.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Also, even if DS is not in the highest group, the tracked school might be the best choice because he would get more attention at his level. On the other hand, there are arguments that on-level or below-level kids benefit from learning with kids who are ahead of level.

The latter. Tracking is great for kids in the highest group. It's not great for the other kids.

+100

+1 again

[Anonymous]

I went to a school that tracked beginning in K and liked that. There wasn't much movement between groups prior to middle/high school.