Great school ratings

We conducted a data analysis of great school ratings scores. In America, most children go to school based on where their family lives. So affluent parents often take the quality of schools into consideration when they make housing decisions.

Across the country, states and school districts have devised their own systems of letter grades and color-coded dashboards based on test scores and graduation rates. But arguably the most visible and influential school rating system in America comes from the nonprofit GreatSchools, whose ratings appear in home listings on national real estate websites Zillow, Realtor. But GreatSchools ratings effectively penalize schools that serve largely low-income students and those serving largely black and Hispanic students, generally giving them significantly lower ratings than schools serving more affluent and more white and Asian students, a Chalkbeat analysis found. But those schools still face long odds of getting an above-average rating on GreatSchools — likely because their students are arriving far behind. The result is a ubiquitous, privately run school ratings system that is steering people toward whiter, more affluent schools. A recent preliminary study found that as the site rolled out an earlier version of its ratings, areas with highly rated schools saw increases in home prices and rises in the number of white, Asian, and better-educated families.

Great school ratings

GreatSchools is an American national nonprofit organization that provides information about PK schools and education. The website provides ratings and comparison tools based on student growth, college readiness, equity, and test scores for public schools in the U. The next four years — , the school ratings expanded statewide in California and expanded nationwide in In , GreatSchools introduced a "Summary Rating" to individual school profiles. The Summary Rating is a score on a scale composed of themed ratings including how well schools serve students from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds Equity , how much students are improving within a school year Student Progress , performance on state tests Test Score , and how well schools prepare students for college College Readiness. In , GreatSchools further evolved its Equity and Summary Ratings for K schools to emphasize equity and elevate student academic progress as a key measure of school quality. The increased emphasis on equity had the effect of lowering the summary scores for many highly-rated schools and raising ratings for poorly performing schools, as schools with a small population of disadvantaged students do not receive an Equity rating. GreatSchools ratings also do not take college level courses other than Advanced Placement into consideration when calculating "college readiness. Despite these adjustments to the methodology, the ratings continue to generate criticism among parents and education stakeholders for their role in housing choices and reliance on indicators known to be associated with student race and income. On the other hand, low-valued property leads to less funding for schools, which then further decreases property value. In August , GreatSchools became the first school information site to add school climate data to its school profiles. This survey has been validated by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and shown to predict the likelihood of school improvement in school climate and student outcomes.

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The new GreatSchools Summary Ratings include the following where data are available and accessible :. GreatSchools soft-launched the expanded ratings for all California schools in late September, and parents there already have positive reactions to the improved GreatSchools tool. GreatSchools is the leading nonprofit providing high-quality information that supports parents pursuing a great education for their child, schools striving for excellence, and communities working to diminish inequities in education. We are the only national organization that collects and analyzes data from all 51 state departments of education and the federal government to provide analysis, insights, and school quality ratings for parents, partners, researchers, and policymakers. View all posts by GreatSchools. The new GreatSchools Summary Ratings include the following where data are available and accessible : An Academic Progress Rating that shows how much a school helps students improve academically throughout the school year; An Equity Rating that indicates whether a school effectively serves all groups of students, including students in different ethnic groups and students from low-income families; and An Advanced Coursework Rating, which includes information on the courses a school offers and the average number of advanced courses a student takes at the school. Like Loading Author: GreatSchools.

Great school ratings

The Summary Rating is a multi-measure school quality metric intended to reflect how well a school is preparing students for postsecondary success. GreatSchools currently produces four themed ratings, all of which are included in the Summary Rating when available. The Student Progress Rating is calculated using state-level student growth data. This rating is replaced with the Academic Progress Rating a proxy growth measure created by GreatSchools when sufficient state-produced student growth data is not available. The Equity Rating incorporates multiple student outcome measures for historically disadvantaged students including state test scores, academic growth, college entrance exam performance, and high school graduation rates. The Test Score Rating is based on student performance data gathered at the state level.

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By Hady Mawajdeh. Sparks reports it was partially in response to advocates who were concerned about equity. It could put more weight on growth. Despite these adjustments to the methodology, the ratings continue to generate criticism among parents and education stakeholders for their role in housing choices and reliance on indicators known to be associated with student race and income. His takeaway? Retrieved December 21, Meanwhile, any changes could anger affluent communities that have benefited through property values from the way the ratings are currently calculated. Myron Long, who is starting a charter school in Washington, D. Something went wrong. It was a striking acknowledgement of the flaws in the prior system.

As an independent nonprofit, our mission at GreatSchools. In , we launched our Summary Rating, which is comprised of themed ratings that each reflect important factors in how students experience school, including how well schools serve students from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, how much students are improving within a school year, performance on state tests, and how well schools prepare students for college. In August , we piloted new methodologies in California and Michigan for both the Summary Rating and the Equity Rating to provide a clearer lens to see how schools serve all children.

So affluent parents often take the quality of schools into consideration when they make housing decisions. ISSN Jackson, though, said the organization did try to ensure the ratings got into the hands of less-affluent families. Explainers Israel-Hamas war election Tax season. Knapp is not alone in the Denver area. GreatSchools revamped its ratings in That could mean GreatSchools loses credibility with a powerful constituency of families. The website provides ratings and comparison tools based on student growth, college readiness, equity, and test scores for public schools in the U. GreatSchools also now allows school and district officials to "claim" their GreatSchools profiles to add and update course information and other relevant school information directly. The messy legal drama impacting the Bravo universe, explained By Kyndall Cunningham.