Why are HRCS so popular? Test scores stink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back to the original question, "Why are HRCS so popular (even though their test scores stink)?

Reason number 1: Parents don't swear at their children on the playground. My HRCS has awful test scores. I don't care because my child is happy, safe, loved, and nurtured. Amongst the other benefits, I don't have to worry about parents, teachers, admin, etc cussing at my young, impressionable child. I also don't have to worry about weapons, drugs, gangs.

Truthfully, I'm not even worried about test scores. The PARCC test is not a great indicator of my child's college success IMHO. Who tests a kid at 3rd grade to decide whether they will be successful in college? If that were the case, why isn't Harvard, Yale, and Stanford looking at my 3rd graders PARCC results. Hmmm -- could it be that they know that they don't matter. We are talking about elementary school!

Obviously, high school matters (colleges do look at those scores) so I will look at middle schools that feed into top DS high schools (BASIS, Latin), but I am personally overjoyed that my child is at a CS where he is cared for and where test scores stink (just another indicator to me that teachers care about him and not teaching to a test).

I understand your concerns and the concerns of others that sending your child to a Title I school may expose them to bad language and bad behaviors. I'm sure that it happens at some Title I schools, but it's not the case in our situation. I'm also pretty sure that it happens at some of the popular charter schools as well. It makes me sad to see these kinds of posts that paint all Title I schools with the same brush. At the Title I school my DC attends, the kids, including those in the upper grades, are bright, funny, polite, curious, you name it. My DC is in a loving and nurturing environment and doing well. I don't worry when I drop him off at school because I know he's getting a good education and is surrounded by people and friends who care about him.

I also share your feelings about test scores. I don't put a whole lot of stock in them. That said, it is an indicator for me that the administration is on top of things. If the test scores for a particular school are really low, I would wonder if my child's needs are being met. I went from one Title I school that was a total mess, and the test scores were awful. We're now at a school where the school culture and environment are vast improvements and the test scores are on par with some of the popular charters. I think there is a connection there.