Her question:
"What criteria should I look at with the schools when making a decision. What do the different scores mean and what should I base the decision on. Do you have any good websites that will help me understand the test scores and what they mean and what I should really look at when deciding? Any help would be greatly appreciated!"
3 comments:
I just found these sites that can help you in your search.
www.greatschools.net
www.schoolmatters.com
When we moved to AZ from SD last year, our housing search was centered on this issue. The first thing I did was asked my realtor how to find good schools. He gave me some information on charter schools in the area and the website for the department of education and I started researching. Schools in AZ are each given a performance rating based on academic standards and tests from the year before. (I'm sure all states have a similar system.) I found all of the schools with the highest performance ratings in the area we were moving to and narrowed the housing search to only those neighborhoods. It definitely took some work on my part, but my realtor was great about getting me the info I needed to get started. The school our kids go to is a concept school with a focus on math, science and technology. (Needless to say we had some catching up to do after being in the South Dakota schools.) One year later, and my first and second grader know how to put power points together. I'm glad I did my homework!
Hope this helps! :)
I am sure that there is a lot of good information you can find on the internet, but I would also start asking people who live near your new location. High test scores are great, but they are not everything. The people who live in the area generally know best. If you don't know anyone there yet, I would call a local church member of your faith, or the local MOP's leader, etc.
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