| If you've got a child in public school as young as | | | | state issues its own standardized test there's no |
| third grade, you're already starting to feel the | | | | good way to compare a "B" rated school in Florida |
| testing frenzy. School administrators, teachers, | | | | with a "B" rated school in New York State. For |
| and your child are all feeling the pressure to take | | | | this reason test results for school rankings are a |
| and live up to state and national standards of | | | | lot more useful when comparing schools at a local |
| learning. Those test results will be published in your | | | | level. |
| local paper, appear on websites, and will be | | | | Now throw private schools into the mix and your |
| incorporated into every school rankings publication | | | | ability to decipher school rankings seems even |
| that exists. | | | | more complicated. But here, you really just need |
| What's the Purpose of School rankings? | | | | to know what information you want. Some school |
| If you're not familiar with the term, school | | | | rankings can be very useful for learning about the |
| rankings is the generic title give to any number of | | | | socio-economic status of a specific school. |
| compilations of school assessments on the | | | | Another area I always recommend you check out |
| Internet, or in magazines and newspapers around | | | | in school ranking for k-12 gen interest is teacher |
| the nation. Sometimes you'll get a very specific | | | | turnover. This rate will tell you more about the |
| set of school rankings, like Newsweek Magazine's | | | | overall climate of the school than any other. |
| annual list of the best high schools in the country. | | | | Keep in mind that school rankings won't always |
| Other times you'll get a broader overview of the | | | | account for the special populations reported on |
| school demographics, test scores, ratios and | | | | the school's testing. An inner city school that |
| facilities. The basic purpose of all of these is to | | | | houses a magnet school may have high test |
| help parents understand how well their child's | | | | scores for its magnet students, but a lower |
| school is doing or to evaluate prospective new | | | | overall score because of the low-income |
| schools. | | | | neighborhood kids who attend. Sad- but a real |
| Test Scores and School rankings | | | | factor of poverty that impacts school rankings |
| How test scores impact school rankings depends | | | | k-12 gen interest. |
| on the specific assessment that it's applied to. In a | | | | You can use school rankings to help you evaluate |
| forum that attempts to compare schools across | | | | schools in several ways. But just like any test the |
| the nation, school rankings run into a very basic | | | | school gives your child, it's one part of a bigger |
| problem of apples and oranges. Because each | | | | picture. |