Xpost: School district research

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What accurate websites and research methods do you use to learn more about districts and their rankings, report cards, and info like % of students graduating to a 4 year college, AP classes, dual language programs, clubs and extracurriculars, what programs are available for gifted/advanced students as well as special education programs, etc.? How did you go about narrowing down and what factors did you use to decide on your district?

Xpost: School district research

I would love to know this too! My DH and I are considering a move to another state and I need to know all of this information before making any decision.

Xpost: School district research

I think most of your child's success has to do with you. I teach at a school that is one of the best in my area and looks amazing on paper - great graduation rate, tons of AP programs, lots of extracurriculars, great test scores, etc. It has the same issues as schools that are not rated as well. I actually preferred my old school, which was ranked average, as there was a much better sense of community in the district. If you can, I recommend talking to teachers and community members who are currently in the school system.

I am an educator, so I knew the type of district I wanted. I wanted a mid-sized district where my son would not get lost in the shuffle and would still have opportunities in terms of sports, clubs, and courses. I also realize that its important for me to be an advocate for him and to encourage a growth mindset.

Re: Xpost: School district research

I can tell you that Greatschools.org is not accurate.

data.nysed.gov is from NY state and that's accurate for test scores, grad rates, enrollment numbers.

You can explore on the district websites usually and that can give you some idea.

Re: Xpost: School district research

Xpost: School district research

avoid greatschools.org like someone said above. I am a teacher and have worked in some great schools that don't have accurate ratings on there.


I think this site is the absolute best to look at:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings

you can search for your district on the left and it will give you all the info you need. For example, if you search Massapequa High School (not my district, just picked a random district off the top of my head lol) you will see that the student to teacher ratio is 12:1 overall which is great, you'll see their state exam scores are higher compared to the rest of NYS, graduation rate is 98%, etc.

The search is for the high schools in the districts specifically.. I care most about the college readiness factor and quality of high school instruction personally, and I think looking there is a great place to start. From there, you can go to other sites or talk to people in the district to get info on the elementary schools.

I used this site when we bought our house because the high school is really good. I then spoke to people who lived there and got input on the best elementary school (there's 3 in my district), and was able to narrow my home search to one specific section that I knew would be zoned for the elementary I wanted.