Choosing the best school

Whether your child will be in kindergarten and you are confronting this decision for the first time, or whether you live in a school district that offers a choice of schools—public or private—from which you can pick, or whether you are moving to another part of the country and trying to determine the school district and neighborhood in which to buy a house, the decision is a difficult one and should depend on information about the school itself, as well as comparative standardized test scores.

School quality depends on many factors, not all easily measurable, and not all equally important for each individual child or family. Based on knowledge of their own child, parents may want to consider what is most important to their particular situation: Small class size? A culturally diverse student and teacher population? The availability of extracurricular activities like band or orchestra? Second language opportunities in Japanese or Latin? A particular teaching approach, like mixed-age grouping or Montessori? High test scores?

Parents who are interested in how schools in a particular school district compare can call the district office and get a copy of the individual "school report cards" for each school, which provide standardized test scores at different class levels. If more than one district is under consideration, several districts in the same geographical area can supply this information for comparative purposes. Since schools vary widely at the individual building level and at the individual classroom level, these comparisons can supply one kind of comparative information for schools.

Realtors often have good information about the reputation of particular schools in a geographic area. They can be a good resource when making decisions as to which neighborhood or area of a city might be the best choice, based on what the family is looking for in a school.

Parents may want to keep in mind that no written set of assessments or test scores can take the place of visiting a school and forming one’s own opinion about the overall environment and quality of the school.

Here are some things to think about in choosing a new school as handed down by the National Association for Elementary School Principals:

 

• Check out the school district’s annual report to determine the expenditure per pupil. In many communities, this dollar amount will be closely linked to school quality.
• Visit the school to see if you get the feeling that it is child- and family-oriented.
• Check to see what services are available at the school. Look for guidance counselors, an on-site nurse, a librarian, and a secretary, and check to see if they work at more than one school. If any of these key personnel do work at more than one school, be cautious!
• Check to see what percentage of the students go on to college if you are looking at a high school.
• Check the local library for books and videos on moving to a new school. Look for books for children as well as adults.

Several publications and fee-based services also provide information comparing schools, usually by standardized test scores.

Check out the Private School Guide and the Public School Guide in the following pages where you’ll find pertinent local information to help in your search.

Publications

• Educational Rankings Annual 2003. Gale Research, Inc. 2002.
(Lists best elementary and secondary schools for each state. Also compares best schools across states. Criteria for ranking schools given in the publication.)

• Quality Counts—A Report Card on the Condition of Public Education In the 50 States. A Supplement to "Education Week," January 8, 1998, Vol. XVII.
(Uses data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress for its comparisons.) A portion of the data from Quality Counts is available on the Internet. You can take a look at school report cards from any of the 50 states. Connect to Education Week’s Web site at: http://www.edweek.org/sreports/qc98/98home.htm [NPIN editor’s note (9-9-02): this url has changed: http://www.edweek.org/sreports/qc98/]

You can purchase a copy of this report though an online ordering system, or by calling 800-436-1834.

Services and Organizations

• Council for American Private Education (CAPE)
1726 M. Street, NW, Suite #703
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202-659-0016

• National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Although NCES does not collect statistics to evaluate or compare schools and school districts, some states do collect such statistics. John Ralph may be able to provide names of persons to contact in individual states.
Contact: John Ralph (202-219-2270)

• State Departments of Education
Many State Departments of Education provide detailed assessment testing data for the school districts/counties in their state (e.g., Colorado, Oregon) through the Internet. You can link to all the State Departments of Education at: http://ericeece.org/statlink.html

Other Internet Sites

Petersons Education Center
http://www.petersons.com

The Association of Boarding Schools
http://www.schools.com

Choosing the Right School—A Family Guide (National Association of Independent Schools)
http://www.nais.org

New Television Programming from the U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education has started a new television series about ways to ensure children’s educational success. Here’s your chance to join an exciting program with parents and educators who are doing what it takes to improve American education.

The Series

September 2002 marked the beginning of the first full school year under the No Child Left Behind Act and signified the start of a historic, new era in education. To help parents understand the new law and all the important changes it is bringing, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a new monthly television series entitled Education News Parents Can Use.

The Format

The new program takes the place of ED’s Satellite Town Meeting and keeps many of its predecessor’s signature features — the live format, viewer call-ins, and lively discussion. What is different about Education News is its focus on information and resources of value to parents and families. The program features brief segments, including one-on-one interviews, "how-to" demonstrations, more video and graphics, and brief conversations with parents, educators, education experts, and community, business, and religious leaders.

The Schedule

On the third Tuesday of each month during the school year, Education News provides parents with the tools and information they need to be effectively involved in their children’s learning. This is your opportunity to ask a question of participants — drawn from communities like yours — on what works to improve teaching and learning in schools and in the home. This year’s tentative schedule is located at http://registerevent.ed.gov

The Audience

Education News’ target audience is an informed citizenry — parents and educators with a general knowledge of and strong interest in education. In many communities, parents, teachers, business leaders, and others may watch together and have their own discussions. Other registrants are actually local television outlets that broadcast the program live on cable access, including school board and other educational channels. The program is also rebroadcast on the Discovery Networks’ TLC (The Learning Channel), the Channel One Network, and some Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations.

The Viewing Options

Find information and viewing options for each show through our online registration system at http://registerevent.ed.gov  All downlink sites must register for events prior to accessing the coordinates.

If you wish to find a local meeting or to look for a local television broadcast, select "viewing options" at: http://registerevent.ed.gov

ED offers free technical assistance to help position satellite dishes to receive the KU or C Band transmission. Registrants may call 954-838-0900, extension 3 for assistance.

Live and archived Web casts of each show will be available at http://www.connectlive.com/events/ednews

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to send a message to the ED email event box at, Satellite.Town.Meeting@ed.gov or call us at 1-800-USA-LEARN. v