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[quote=Anonymous]The pp giving you the links for the school assignment locators is right - that's where you'll find the test scores and demographics for various schools.  At your price point, frankly, a lot of the standard DCUM reccomendations are going to be unobtainable unless you are willing to live in a condo.  So first, look at the areas/neighborhoods your budget will buy in.  Pick the ones you like the best and that provide a tolerable commute.  When you see a house you like, go to the website for the school district and look up the school assignment for that address.  Do this ALOT so you get familiar with how the schools present the data.  In addition to test scores, you should also consider FARMS and ESOL percentages, because in your price range, the schools are likely going to have large numbers of low-income and possibly English as a second language students.  You want to watch out when either of those numbers gets too high (&gt;80%) - in that case, you are really going to want to do due diligence on the school by talking to parents, etc., before just assuming that the school will be OK.  Also, at least in MoCo, the school data sheet lists any special programs that are at the school (e.g., language immersion, magnet programs) and you can find more information about them on the school district website.  I wish I had better understood the various special programs in MoCo, because I now realize that the schools for my neighborhood may have inflated test scores due to the magnet programs that are housed there.  You can also google the school's name.  You'll probably get a lot of hits for the same data that is on the district's website, but you might also get some news articles that can provide a glimpse of life at the school.  For the high schools, maybe you can find a school newspaper site.  [/quote]

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