GREATSCHOOLS.NET (our take)
http://greatschools.net is the easy-to-use, test-driven school listings resource visited by one in three U.S. K-12 families (30 million users). While the compilation of data is incredible, greatschools.net has an unfortunate “one number” rating system, based (essentially) on a school’s API score as averaged over the entire student body. This number which correlates most strongly with homogeneous populations of affluent families and high real estate values (in the same way SAT scores are strongly linked with family income). Parents tend to wrongly conclude they must move to an expensive suburb (where starter homes are $1.2 million) to find quality teachers for their children.
Many of our own kids, and kids we personally know (some gifted, some special needs, some reading three grade levels ahead) are thriving in public schools they love with greatschools.net ratings of 6 and even 4 (that’s on a 10 point scale). They’ve graduated on to the UC’s (and yes, even Harvard) and succeeded academically without throwing their families into hock. So we suggest you use greatschools.net not as your FINAL arbiter but as one tool in combination with visiting schools and candidly networking with other public school families.
9 Responses to "GREATSCHOOLS.NET (our take)"
August 17, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Hi Ed,
Short Ave is one of those schools, like many neighborhood schools on the Westside, that is experiencing a renaissance due to huge parent participation combined with strong administration. They have worked hard to make many improvements including campus upgrades, computers in the classroom with Renzuli access for every student, a preschool program, and while I last visited, a huge Science fair. I just see them getting better and better.
Short is almost all neighborhood families now, so imagine what it would be like to be a part of that kind of local tight-knit community for your children and yourself. Imagine walking or biking to school, exchanging local playdates, drop-offs and pick-ups, and being part of a growing neighborhood spirit.
The best way to get a sense of the school, or any school for that matter, is to go for a visit. Take a look around. If you want to meet the real movers and shakers of a school, go to one of their monthly Booster Club meetings. There are regular fundraisers and festivals scheduled through-out the year which is another way to not only support your neighborhood school, but also get a sense of who that community is and if it will be a good fit for you.
Best of luck on your school journey!
–
Tanya Anton
Author, “Westside Guide to Public Elementary Schools:
Navigating Magnets, Charters, Permits & More”
http://gomamaguide.com/
August 17, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Dear Ed,
We hear great things about Short. While in the “olden days,” Short may not have enjoyed the best neighborhood reputation, three years ago several moms from a nearby preschool (Redwood Village) decided to band together to renew local pride in Short (concurrent with their own children starting kindergarten). Working in tandem with a forward-thinking new principal, involved parents have partnered with the school to bring a Tree People Event (resulting in 70 new trees planted around the campus), new murals, new playgrounds funding by Anne and Kirk Douglas grants, and an afterschool art club. Project for 2008-2009 is a new library. New parent orientations typically occur in January and April.
Ed, it’s worth noting that Short is a Title One school, so will not appear to have that affluent predominantly white Westside mix that, rightly or wrongly, some parents believe is the number one indicator of a quality school. As we’ve noted elsewhere, many of our children are in Title One schools all over Los Angeles and are thriving academically. However, regarding Short in particular, the best course of action is to talk directly to parents with children currently at the school. (Also consider articulating a short wish list (what are YOU looking for in an elementary?) and–yes, in a nice way–suggesting it to the booster parents and/or parent-outreach-oriented staff at the school. It’s your neighborhood school, it belongs to you, you pay the taxes–demanding parents make better schools for everyone!)
A direct parent-to-parent contact for you at Short Elementary is:
Debby Bohn
bohndeb@yahoo.com
(310) 739-4129
(And I just noticed Tanya Anton posted something similar–glad we agree! Whew!)
Best,
Sandra
November 5, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Another asset on GreatSchools is the parent community. We have a several regular contributor/parents in LAUSD and nearby districts. The LAUSD group is located at http://community.greatschools.net/groups/13589
There are parents with experience with giftedness, learning disabilities, and a variety of other situations that might change the approach a parent takes in choosing a school.
November 14, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Hi, does anybody have any information about Mayberry Elementary? It seems so charming but it scored a 4 and the student body is very homogeounous.
January 14, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Unfortunately, and I use that term loosely “censors, negative posts”. Just ask the moms in the old Schwab learning forums about how they feel about “Great Schools”. It’s a joke.
March 16, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Hi Keli Mc,
Several of the most active Schwab moms are also very active in the parent community. We’re doing our best to actively assist parents on GreatSchools. YMMV.
March 19, 2009 at 2:38 am
I don’t live in LAUSD, but I studied Physics and work as a data whisperer in my day job. I’ve always suspected that school test scores are a stronger predictor of parental income, wealth and education than student achievement.
Additionally, median test scores don’t tell you how much your child will learn; they only indicate what kind of peer group they will meet in school.
Anecdotally, I heard so many co-workers mention under-achievement of kids who went to high-scoring schools. One coworker said that, out of the kids he knew, the ones from my middle class neighborhood went to more selective colleges and graduated faster than the ones from his much more expensive neighborhood. He blamed the complacent peer group.
Out of curiosity, I analyzed the test scores for my daughter’s middle class school (B) to that of a neighboring “blue ribbon” school (A) in a town where $1.2M buys you a starter shack. The results were startling.
While the average test scores were slightly higher at school A, the parental educational attainment was much higher. That is, 51% of parents of students at school A held graduate degrees while only 21% at school B did. Furthermore, if you compare the test scores of only the kids of parents who hold graduate degrees, the kids at lower scoring school B actually have higher test scores.
The full analysis is here:
http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2009/03/school-correlations.html
The mystery is solved. I work in a place where 50% hold masters and 30% hold PhDs. It would appear that our children, in the aggregate (YMMV!), learn more in a setting with a diverse student body.
June 3, 2009 at 9:49 pm
The L.A. Times put our a map of average API by neighborhood:
http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/api-test-scores/neighborhood/list/
Of course, how meaningful that is is anyone’s guess, but it’s colorful!
Leave a Reply
Recent Comments
 | Magnet Maven on Magnet Season Even Earlie… |
 | Kristina on PARENTS SEEKING SCHOOLS |
 | Rebekka on GIFTED STUDENT PROGRAMS |
| Kristina on Magnet Season Even Earlie… |
| Magnet Maven on Magnet Season Even Earlie… |
August 16, 2008 at 9:01 pm
My wife and I are considering our Neighborhood school for our son for Kindergarten. The School is Short Avenue Elemenentary on the Westside. Some of our neighbors are starting to send their kid there. Do you have any feedback on this school?
Ed