School Ratings Questions.

I've been a teacher in the area for 20 years. Feel free to pm me and I'll share what I know or what I've heard about schools in the area.

I'm not familiar with the DFW area, but I can tell you what I think of the way schools are rated on web sites. Those ratings are based almost solely on test scores. Even comments left by people are not all that reliable. Here is why I say that.

I teach in a school that has pretty high ratings. My kids go to a school that has ratings that are quite a bit lower. (I taught in that building before my kids were in school. When I was transferred to a different school, I told my colleagues that I hoped my kids would be there.) But, in my opinion, my kids go to a school that is a much better school than the one I teach at now. Their school has an amazing administrative team. Prior to this year, my school had a very ineffective administrator.

My kids go to a Title I school. A lot of people think Title I schools are "bad" because they get Title I status based on the number of students who receive free or reduced lunches. Many people assume "poor = bad." They also tend to have lower test scores. But, because they are a Title I school, they get more federal dollars. My kids have access to resources at their school that my students don't have. Teachers in my building are always complaining that we don't have the same resources that Title I schools have.

The PTSA at my kids' school is very welcoming. I would never be a part of the PTSA as a parent at my building. They advertise meetings as being "where the cool kids hang out." I'm very turned off be how cliqueish they are.

The teachers at my kids' school are amazing! They work so hard. We have great teachers in my building, too. But, there are specific teachers that I would not want my own kids to have. Especially if I had a student who struggles in school. They have poor attitudes and some do the minimum of what they should do.

My kids' school is the Autism center for the district. My kids have had Autistic students and other special needs students in their classes every year. I think my kids have developed a great deal of compassion and an understanding of disabilities. One of my friends has a grandson at the same school who was diagnosed with a seizure disorder. She gets very emotional when she talks about how wonderful the school as been. My school has a handful of special needs students and I don't see students being as compassionate with them. I also think some of our staff don't have a lot of patience for those students who do have extra needs. I often hear, "I just don't know what to do xxxx."

I think my kids' school has far fewer discipline problems or else they are handled a lot better than at my school.

I have people ask me why my kids don't go to the "better" school. I think my kids do go to the better school. And there is at least one other school that I would pick before the school I currently teach at. But, I have different priorities than other people do. The school I teach at might be a better fit for their priorities.

The best way to learn about a school is to visit it. We always have families that are new to the community coming to visit our school before they buy a home. Call schools in the areas you are looking at and tell them you may possibly be relocating to that area. Ask if you can meet with an administrator and tour the school. Ask if you can attend a PTSA meeting or talk to some parents. If your child has special needs (special education, 504 plan, gifted and talented) ask if you can talk to someone who would be working with your child. Most districts will be more than happy to talk with you.

Please know that any person can post on great schools or similar websites. Since that is the case consider who is most likely to go online and rate a school poorly. Most people who are satisfied don't take the time to post, but disgruntled parents and students definitely do. So I would take those comments as only one source of information. Talking in person to people who have kids in attendance is the best way to get an idea. I work in a high school that is warm and caring with top programs for students across the board but we have a high number of special education and english language learner students so our test scores aren't really representative of the entire picture. Please keep in mind that most schools are properly educating the students who have their needs met at home and if you are involved in your student's education that is the biggest predictor of their success.

I can only offer general comments as I do not live in the DFW area.

I'd take the ratings of sites like Great Schools (and similar) with a grain of salt and give more credence to your friends, people you actually know who have children in the schools, and what they say about specific schools in the area. I know this isn't always true, but it does seem that people are often quick to post negative things rather than take time to post the positive, so the ratings you see and the comments you read are likely skewed and not representative of the actual parent populations at those schools.

Also, when you find homes you like, type the addresses into the school district website to see what schools those homes are zoned for. Zillow, Trulia, and other real estate websites are notoriously inaccurate and don't always keep up with school district changes when areas are rezoned. When we listed our home for sale in the fall, the various real estate sites had all different schools listed and had not adjusted the information after our school district rezoned. You might also want to inquire whether the area you're interested in is being considered for rezoning anytime in the near future. I don't know if that's an issue in TX, but it has happened in our district.

Aside from things like standardized test scores and the availability of specialized programs (GATE, language, music, arts, science, etc.), you might check to see whether these schools have an involved and active parent population and an administration that welcomes parent involvement. It is often the case that schools with high parental involvement tend to be higher achieving schools. (Just a correlation, but something to consider).

Good luck. Moving is not easy, especially when you have children and their educational needs to consider.

Eta. I agree... It's not all about test scores. I know our Sr. high schools are routinely in the top spots if the U.S. Many elementary , middle are exemplary as well. You need a well rounded program.

Look up the individual ISD systems of the places you are checking out. Ex: Planoisd.edu, Frisco, Keller, etc

You can see test scores, graduation rates etc

I would give more weight to what your friends are saying than to some comments on Great Schools. Great Schools is looking at standardized test scores. High test scores are a good sign, but they do not paint a complete picture.

If you looked at school districts in my area, I'm pretty sure I know which school district would have the best scores and which two school districts would be next. Personally, I would never choose the district I'm pretty sure would be considered the "best." It is a huge district that is bursting at the seems (too many people moved in too quickly), and too many students are getting lost in the shuffle. We chose probably the 3rd best district, and we are very happy with our choice.

I think talking to people in the area is your best bet. Moms talk to each other and will share the good and the bad. Not too many moms will log onto Great Schools and write a review, so I don't think you are getting a complete picture that way.

Many realtors will be very open and honest about schools. I would definitely listen to your friends and seek your realtor's advice.

There are a LOT of factors that go into the ratings of schools. You can google for school report cards too. I take some of them as very important.

What they basically show you are the poor schools and what the better off schools are.

For instance. A local elementary school consistently gets an F on their yearly report card. They are nearly half tribal kids that live on tribal land, bused into town. Not saying anything bad about that, okay? Just that this particular school has that dynamic. The other half lives on the extreme low income side of town. When you look at their school statistics they have a 99.9% free lunch report. That means that 99.9% of that school is below the poverty level.

The unfortunate effect is that the parents at home often don't even have a high school diploma, they might not have been able to learn to read past 2nd grade, they might have un-diagnosed learning disabilities that were passed on to their kids. The family might not be able to help the kids with any sort of homework and goodness knows the teachers try to not send any home with them because the kids will come back the next day with it not done or the parent tried to help and got the kiddo all confused or taught them how to do it wrong. So the teacher spends the next few days trying to fix that and reteach the materials.

As sad as it is this is not the teachers fault. This school is the lowest in the district. No one wants their kids to go there. Houses in that area just sit vacant for a long time. No one wants to take their kids to that school. The teachers are often told if they don't get the report card grade up their school will be closed due to funding cuts to lower rated schools.

So many factors go into this "grade" on the school's report card and hardly any of it have to do with the teaching. It has to do with poverty, living circumstances, funding for supplies in the classroom, and more that is outside the teachers ability to fix.

Do take these things and see if there is anything that effects the schools that you are considering. Sometimes it's just better to understand what the issue is and why they might have a lower rating and if it even makes a difference.

If you look up the info on Great Schools for my area, you'll see that almost every school has the default rating of 7 and absolutely no data or reviews. My kids' elementary school is wonderful and the most desirable in the district, but if you look up the GS info it seems mediocre at best.

Also keep in mind that when it comes to reviews, be it a product, business, or school, people are more likely to write a complaint than a compliment.

The best and most accurate info will come directly from the schools for statistical data (on their websites, or upon request) and the general good/bad from families who have personal experience.

School ratings are often only as good as the majority of parents in the town. What I mean is, for example, we have an excellent school, but our town is on the wrong side of the tracks, inexpensive, with lots of not so educated people who don't help their kids excel in school. So the test scores are not so hot. So the rating is low. But the teachers are wonderful, the school is safe and nice, there is art and music and computers and a great library. It's the same exact Common Core curriculum as the top rated school in the state 4 miles away. The only difference is that the neighboring town is bigger and made up of doctors and lawyers and all the wealthy people in the area. The homes are more expensive and the taxes are way higher, and the kids have been raised with much more focus on education. So the test scores are higher. But the school isn't any better. I actually think ours is better because it's smaller and the board is very accessible. I recently worked to get cursive reinstated and they were cooperative and excited to have parent participation. The "better" school doesn't teach it anymore.

Try to find a facebook group for the DFW area, or an even more narrow neighborhood if possible. Join the group and ask for feedback there. I am in a group for moms in my county and people moving to the area frequently join and ask for advice on schools. You'll be able to hear from people within the district and get their honest opinions.

My school offers tours for incoming kindergarteners in the spring (maybe March?). Call the school(s) you're looking at and see if they have something similar. While they might not offer tours year round, maybe you can make arrangments to be in Dallas when the schools are offering their tours for the upcoming school year.

My kids go to one of the less popular schools in the county where we live. My parents live 10 minutes north of us and are districted for the best school...my mom was doing before care for us and my older two went there for 2nd and K for about 6 weeks. They were MISERABLE. We moved them back to our school and they were happy and successful. To me, ratings mean nothing. Nor does talking to someone who hasn't lived somewhere for a long time.