OP - why don't you try the neighborhood school before moving? See if you like it based on actual experience. I wouldn't move without at least giving it a try particularly if you love your area.

Those scores are often based on very few ratings. DD went to the school I believe you are talking about, and some parents love it, some parents hate it, and most of us think it is ok, which is the case at almost any school. Those websites tend to catch the extremes.

Ask about the school on DCUM, go to community events and find both parents who went to the local public school and those who decided to go private or switch and make a decision based on real information. I went through the same thing when DD was entering K and toured many private schools, but when I went to the open house and met the teachers and families, I knew it was the right place for her.

My child's school's rating went from a 9 to a 6. Same school, same staff, same zoning. I'm happy with the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to your current school and post something positive. There! Your rating just went up!

That doesn't effect the score, having your kid get a tutor and scoring higher on the standardized state tests will.

Well, that sort of activity definitely reflects the 'greatness' of the school.

OP what if scores drop at the new school? You could end up wandering the Tri-state area.

Anonymous wrote:Go to your current school and post something positive. There! Your rating just went up!

That doesn't effect the score, having your kid get a tutor and scoring higher on the standardized state tests will.

Go to your current school and post something positive. There! Your rating just went up!

Thise Great Schools things are ridiculous. There's nothing scientific about them. I would not move based on that.

What do you consider to be a 10 in rating? What you see as important in a school may not be the same as what your neighbor thinks.

You can see the test scores of the school, school size, diversity, etc.. in the MCPS website. What you cannot see in those scores and websites is the school's culture and whether your kid would thrive in that school, or find a good friend

We are in an "8" ES school, and my K did really well, absolutely loved the teacher, and jumped almost 2 grade levels in reading in just 8 months. Could the "10" school have provided that? Probably, but we got the same at the "8" school.

Anonymous wrote:We are currently in the RM cluster in a house and community we love, but elementary school is a 7. Our daughter will be entering K next year, and we are feeling obligated to move to Bethesda or Potomac to a GS 10. Are we crazy? What is the difference between a great schools 7 score and a 10 score in Mont. County?

Our local ES went from a 10 to a 7 in a few years with no rezoning. Take these ratings as generals, not absolutes.

Anonymous wrote:We are currently in the RM cluster in a house and community we love, but elementary school is a 7. Our daughter will be entering K next year, and we are feeling obligated to move to Bethesda or Potomac to a GS 10. Are we crazy? What is the difference between a great schools 7 score and a 10 score in Mont. County?

Wealthier peers. That's pretty much it.

How ridiculous to uproot your family based on a website that was created by real estate agents. It is bogus and you are very gullible to depend on a numerical ranking.

Anonymous wrote:We are currently in the RM cluster in a house and community we love, but elementary school is a 7. Our daughter will be entering K next year, and we are feeling obligated to move to Bethesda or Potomac to a GS 10. Are we crazy? What is the difference between a great schools 7 score and a 10 score in Mont. County?

Yes. There are things that are more foolish than moving from a house and community you love to a very expensive community and house you may not even like, just to go from a school with a Great Schools rating of 7 to a school from a Great Schools rating of 10. Robbing a bank, for example.

My advice: send your daughter to kindergarten and see how you like the school. Also, talk to your neighbors who send their children to that school.

Honestly, I would take those rating with a grain of salt. I've watched the rating on my own neighborhood school go from a 5 all the way up to a 9 and then down to an 8...I don't know what it is now. Nothing has changed about the school.

It was a good school when it was a 5, it was a good school at a 9 and it is a good school now (whatever the rating might be).

We are currently in the RM cluster in a house and community we love, but elementary school is a 7. Our daughter will be entering K next year, and we are feeling obligated to move to Bethesda or Potomac to a GS 10. Are we crazy? What is the difference between a great schools 7 score and a 10 score in Mont. County?