Reply to Can anyone shed light on what is likely to change at Norwood with new leadership?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/freshmen-least-most-likely-return

As an education consumer I find this type of information on retention/attrition rates more informative than  "top Ivy of Big 3".  Why does Norwood and others hid this information from education consumers like many posters here who also ardently defend this practice?[/quote]

Interesting comparison.  A few follow-up points:  Colleges have been required under federal law since about the mid-1990s to publish their graduation rates.  Of course, the federal government has the power to do this because of the leverage of federal financial aid programs.  Because there is no such federal financial aid for students to attend private elementary/secondary schools, obviously the federal government at least has no jurisdiction.  (Perhaps local/state governments with voucher programs could try to link participation to publication of such data, but that would tend to drive down participation in voucher programs by well-founded schools).  Again, it really comes down to "independent schools."  Moreover, because independent schools draw from a local community, it can be assumed that potential applicants should be able to get a good sense of whether there is an issue with attrition levels by talking to others in their community (current or past parents).  Lastly, is attrition in general at non-startup independent schools an issue of any significance?  Unlike with charter schools, for example, which have a relatively high failure rate, we don't see a pattern of schools closing around here and people losing tuition payments in the middle of the year.

The advice is trite and boring, but it works:  before you send your child to a school, talk to current and former families.  If you don't want to get names from the school because you think they will be "company people," ask your circle of acquaintances at work or in your neighborhood and it shouldn't be too hard to get referrals.  If there's something serious, sure, ask the school (up to you if you do it before your child is admitted -- I generally assume that schools don't blacklist the child with the aggressive parent on the school tour but you might choose discretion over valor).  If you have many negative preconceptions about a school in particular, maybe just give it a pass -- there are lots of other ones to choose from.

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