My kids are getting close to school age so my wife and I have been looking at Elementary School rankings on school-rankings.com. The ranking are from 1-10, 10 being the best and the rankings are as follows:
9 - Magnolia, Pepper Tree, and Valencia
7 - Foothill Knolls, Sierra Vista, and Sycamore
6 - Baldy View, Citrus, and Cabrillo
5 - Upland Elementary
The rankings are based on the Academic Performance Index in 2007.
As you can see on the map I made above, no school is north of Foothill is below a 7 and no school south of Foothill is above a 6. Theoretically the further north you go, the better your education. This seems to be a good argument for school vouchers.
Personally I don't feel that the faculty, class size, money,or race are at fault for the lower rankings, I put the blame squarely on the parents who's kids are not taking school seriously. In my limited experience, I've found in most cases. that kids will get whatever grades they can get away with at home. That being said, I'd rather have my kids go to the schools where the parents put a priority on education.
The good news for Upland here is that no school is currently below average.
Update: For the record, I attended Sierra Vista in the 80's.
8 comments:
Or theoretically, the further north you go, the more money people have and the more educated they are. Educated parents are often better able to understand/are more comfortable with the educational system and to help their children with homework. In addition, many are able to afford to get additional help for their children, if needed. It is not a good argument for school vouchers---children with adults who are unable or unwilling to help them are less likely to do well in school no matter what the ranking.
You would be better served by checking out the similar scores API ranking from the state of California website. In that one, the breakdown occurs like this:
9: Baldy View
8: Cabrillo, Citrus, Magnolia, Valencia
7: Peppertree, Upland El
5: Foothill Knolls, Sycamore
3: Sierra Vista
(These are from the 2007 rankings as 2008 similiar school scores have not yet been released.) Similar school rankings compare the school to 100 other schools with similar demographic characteristics and then breaks the results into deciles---theoretically the higher the score, the better job the school is doing teaching the students.
And as for parents putting a priority on education, that is something which is somewhat impossible to judge by looking at "school-rankings.com." Remember, if a student performs poorly on one set of tests, it does not mean that he/she or his/her parents do not take school seriously---there are a variety of factors which influence performance.
My advice (which is based on 17 years of teaching experience) is that your kids will do well in school if you are supportive of both them _and_ their teachers, ask questions when concerned, and stress to them the importance of learning.
Oops...it should be the farther north not further...sorry!
Emily,
Thank you for continuing to come back to my blog. I appreciate your opinions...even if they are only on the topics that have to do with schools.
One thing though, I think most people in Upland, given the choice of which school to send their kids to, would probably make a rankings list much more like the one on School-Rankings than yours.
Just a guess.
Now go read about my post about Parrots.
That point I can easily concede...fallacious reasoning is a serious problem in society today. We get most of our information from the media and tend to believe "the hype" as opposed to seriously reflecting upon all available evidence and making logical, informed decisions. We also tend to jump to conclusions and skim the surface of many things as opposed to looking in depth.
However, the beauty of the United States is that people are able to do as they please, say as they please, and think as they please--regardless if it makes sense or not.
Glad you appreciate my opinions, even though all _two_ have been limited to educational topics. ;) I'll go post about the parrots to broaden my horizons.
hey, i went to sierra vista in the 80's also! let's see....from 1982-1988, i believe.
Sierra Vista was a great place to go to school in the 80's. I'm sure it's the same now....only more fences and mobile units.
I have to agree with Emily, if education is important to you, your children will do well. Both my children attend Sycamore, which is ranked somewhere in the middle. Both are very good students. Sycamore, like most schools, has some outstanding educators and some poor ones. My children have had both. As a parent, you must be diligent in checking homework, tests scores, classroom behavior, etc. It's too easy to sit back and allow the teachers to do all the work.
My advise to you as your children enter school...get involved. Volunteer at the school, get to know the staff. If you can't volunteer, sit with your child as they do their homework, check their class work that comes home. Review the items they did incorrectly and give them a "high five" for the ones they got right. Above all, support your child's school however you can. Donate books, time or money. It's all appreciated.
Dena,
I know my kids will do well wherever they go, but I want the best learning environment for them that I can provide.
Thanks for reading my blog.
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