School Rankings: A Comprehensive Overview
School ranking can be a great way for parents to gauge the overall quality of a public or private school. There are many different ranking sites that rate schools on a variety of criteria and give them performance scores, such as GreatSchools and Niche.
The Importance of Academics and Achievement
These rankings often put a lot of emphasis on academics and achievement. However, there are also other things that can make a big difference in a student's education, such as the culture and climate of the school.
Understanding the Rankings
There are many different methods for calculating these rankings and they can vary greatly from one publication to another, so it's important to understand what each publication weighs and how they come up with their final ranking. Some school ranking websites also provide an explanation of what they look at to get their ratings and a breakdown of how much weight they place on various factors. Some of these factors include class rank, faculty resources, and alumni giving.
Considerations and Limitations
When looking at these factors, it's important to keep in mind that some of them aren't as strong as others and may not always reflect the quality of a school. It's also important to consider that some of these factors aren't standardized and can change year to year. A few of these rankings even include socioeconomic information, which isn't as accurate as test score data or graduation rates but can be a good indicator of how well a school is educating students from certain demographics.
Potential Manipulation and Impact
The biggest problem with these rankings is that they can be manipulated to promote certain schools over others. In the past few years, for example, a few top-tier schools have seen their rankings change from one year to the next, while others have been demoted. These types of changes could have a huge impact on the way your child is educated and can be detrimental to their future, especially if you don't know where to look for a good school.
Choosing the Right Fit
It is possible to make a mistake when looking at these rankings, but it isn't likely. The most important thing is to consider the information that they provide and whether it can help you choose a school that will best fit your child's needs. In the end, your child's success is going to be more about their personality and how they interact with other students than their ability to excel academically. If a school is rated highly for academics but doesn't have a great environment or a great culture, it won't be the right fit for your child.
Understanding Class Rank
The first thing you should do is find out what your school's class rank is. Most schools will have theirs on their website, but if they don't, you can check with the school's admissions office to see what their class rank is. Class ranks were once a major component in admission decisions, but more and more small private and competitive high schools are no longer ranking their students. This is because it can be unfair to good students who don't make the top 10% of their classes and are overlooked by the elite colleges.
