Choosing a 5 school over a 9 school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

TJ must be full of rich white kids driving around in their ferraris, oh wait...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/demographics-shift-at-thomas-jefferson-high-as-asians-make-up-66-percent-of-new-class/2014/04/08/78374f7a-bf23-11e3-b574-f8748871856a_story.html

[Anonymous]

Amen! A child will ALWAYS receive a better education a school with a higher greatschools rating. That's just a fact.

Seriously? You don't think schools with higher Greatschools ratings can have bad teachers or be a bad fit for a student? Or a lower rated school may have great teachers and provide a student with a great education despite the rating???

The Greatschools rating is one measurement of many and really should not be the sole reason to choose or rule out a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

Well I assume you won't be one of those snobs that is overly focused on image & materialism. Your kids will be the "minority" in the "good" school, right? So that's adding diversity to the school, right? What are you worried about. Or you can go to the "bad" school and have your kids be the advantaged kids.

Minority percentage:
30% of Madison
39% of McLean high
40% of Woodson high
42.2% of Marshall
42% of West Springfield

How come they get a great schools rating of a 9? I thought that it had to be all white?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

TJ must be full of rich white kids driving around in their ferraris, oh wait...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/demographics-shift-at-thomas-jefferson-high-as-asians-make-up-66-percent-of-new-class/2014/04/08/78374f7a-bf23-11e3-b574-f8748871856a_story.html

For the purpose of this discussion Asian is pretty much equivalent to white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

TJ must be full of rich white kids driving around in their ferraris, oh wait...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/demographics-shift-at-thomas-jefferson-high-as-asians-make-up-66-percent-of-new-class/2014/04/08/78374f7a-bf23-11e3-b574-f8748871856a_story.html

For the purpose of this discussion Asian is pretty much equivalent to white.

[Anonymous]

Here's a book for you to read

http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Became-White-Routledge-Classics/dp/0415963095

[Anonymous]

and this

http://www.amazon.com/Working-Toward-Whiteness-Americas-Immigrants/dp/0465070744/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AKRR4PXSS42GW0VKK10

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Amen! A child will ALWAYS receive a better education a school with a higher greatschools rating. That's just a fact.

Seriously? You don't think schools with higher Greatschools ratings can have bad teachers or be a bad fit for a student? Or a lower rated school may have great teachers and provide a student with a great education despite the rating???

The Greatschools rating is one measurement of many and really should not be the sole reason to choose or rule out a school.

+10000

Unless of course you're a lemming. Then you should just follow the greatschools #.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I always like to think of the greatschools rating as a scale where 10 means near certainty that my DC will be wildly successful in this world (great career and family) and 1 means near certainty of my DC failing at life (poor, drugs, dependent on government, etc.). To me, putting my DC in a 5 school would be like rolling the dice with his future. I'm just not going to risk it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I always like to think of the greatschools rating as a scale where 10 means near certainty that my DC will be wildly successful in this world (great career and family) and 1 means near certainty of my DC failing at life (poor, drugs, dependent on government, etc.). To me, putting my DC in a 5 school would be like rolling the dice with his future. I'm just not going to risk it.

LOL

[Anonymous]

Great Schools has dated or inaccurate information. You should download the SOL scores from the VA website, you can compare your school scores (passing %, advanced %), to Alexandriawide and nearby county averages, you can also get any statics relevant to your spouse's decision criteria (safety, diversity, etc)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people who care about their kids education and learning environment understand how the school ratings work. Given the chance to choose between a 5 or a 9, I'm picking the 9. I could care less about the race of the students.

Amen! A child will ALWAYS receive a better education a school with a higher greatschools rating. That's just a fact.

Not necessarily. One of the worst elementary teachers I have ever encountered was at Waynewood Elementary in FCPS (rated highly by Waynewood moms who want to maintain the reputation of their supposedly elite neighborhood). The children of "important" parents were not in her room! It was so painfully obvious to observe how the clique-y moms made sure things were handled in the way that favored them and how they bragged that Waynewood feels "just like a private school." Oh goody--lots of snotty brats with helicopter parents who feel entitled to get their way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

Well I assume you won't be one of those snobs that is overly focused on image & materialism. Your kids will be the "minority" in the "good" school, right? So that's adding diversity to the school, right? What are you worried about. Or you can go to the "bad" school and have your kids be the advantaged kids.

Minority percentage:
30% of Madison
39% of McLean high
40% of Woodson high
42.2% of Marshall
42% of West Springfield

How come they get a great schools rating of a 9? I thought that it had to be all white?

It also doesn't have to be wealthy.

West Springfield has a decent non-affluent student body. In terms of NOVA schools I would not consider that pyramid to be terribly wealthy.

It is just a community that values education, regardless of racial background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

There is at most one public HS in NoVa where your description might apply but it's not all white.

It's equally important to consider what causes certain schools to have lower GreatSchools scores. That can include some negative factors as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Here's your constructive feedback: Great Schools is just a number. It by no means gives the full picture of the entire school. If you are only focused on test scores, then compare apples to apples. If your kids are white, then compare the pass rates of the 9 school and the 5 school. If they're black, then compare the pass rates of black students at both schools. School 5 may be a Title1 school which to some here is awful and to others a great thing. If it is a Title 1 school, the class sizes will be smaller and there will be more instructional support and resources. Perhaps both the mom and your husband value diversity and School 5 offers that over School 9. Maybe School 9 has kids in trailers and that's not okay with the mom. Perhaps mom visited the School 5 and really liked the principal and the feel of the school. The bottom line is that no one factor can decide whether a school is a good fit for one family. And what's important for one family may not be important to another.

What she said!!!!!!!