Evaluating Public Schools

This section provides tools to aid in finding the best public school option for your child. Compare private and public schools, explore school zoning issues, and delve into the public school grading and ranking system. Find information on the safest schools and what they are doing right.

View the most popular articles in Evaluating Public Schools:

What are the Best High Schools in America? Top 15 Ranked Schools

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What are the Best High Schools in America? Top 15 Ranked Schools
U.S. News recently released its latest list of the best high schools in America. We’ll take a look at some of the schools on the list and whether the rankings are warranted.

A new report from U.S. News and World Report reveals the top-rated high schools in America, but it is not without its share of accolades and controversy. This list was compiled after the publication carefully analyzed 22,000 high schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were awarded gold, silver, or bronze medals, based on a range of criteria. While some schools are celebrating their inclusion on the list, others are left scratching their heads, wondering how and why they were selected among so many good high schools across the country.

Three Steps to the Top-Ranked Schools

The creation of the U.S. News list was achieved through a three-step process, which was implemented by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). First, the publication looked at student performance, by weighing math and reading scores on high school proficiency tests against the percentage of economically disadvantaged students at the school. Schools that scored higher statistically than the state average were evaluated through the next step in the process.

Next, U.S. News and AIR looked at whether the least advantaged students were performing at a higher rate than the state average. This list included Hispanic, African-American, and low-income students. Schools that were performing better than average in this area proceeded to the next step of the evaluation process.

Finally, schools were judged on their college readiness, through Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data. Both of these programs offer college-level courses

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Sexual Harassment at Age 6: The Tale of a First Grade Suspension

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Sexual Harassment at Age 6: The Tale of a First Grade Suspension
A six-year old in Aurora, Colorado, was suspended after singing an LMFAO song to a little girl in his class and reportedly “shaking his booty.” We look at the case and the sexual harassment problem in public schools today.

Most educators, parents, and students would agree that sexual harassment is a particularly devastating form of bullying that can negatively impact a student’s academic performance, as well as the physical, emotional, and mental health of the student. The definition of sexual harassment, according to the Free Dictionary states, “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive environment.” As one six-year-old Colorado boy discovered, sexual harassment also apparently knows no boundaries in terms of the age of the perpetrator or the victim.

This video explains what sexual harassment is.

The Story of D’Avonte Meadows

D’Avonte Meadows is a first-grader at Sable Elementary in Aurora. The six-year-old was recently suspended from school for three days, after being accused of sexual harassment and disrupting other students. The crime? Allegedly, Meadows was singing a line from an LMFAO song, “I’m Sexy and I Know It,” to a female classmate while waiting in the lunch line at his school.

According to a report at the Washington Post, Meadows was sent home from school after the incident, along with a letter from the school district to his mother, explaining why he was suspended. School officials would not comment on the case initially, but did point out the definition of sexual harassment according to school board policy, which

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10 Tips for Choosing the Best School for Your Child

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10 Tips for Choosing the Best School for Your Child
Make sure you consider these 10 factors when choosing the school best poised to provide the most effective education for a child’s specific needs.

The right school for your child can make all the difference in his or her successful academic career. The good news is that there are many options in education beyond the public school down the street today. The bad news is that the abundance of options often leaves parents in a quandary over how to choose the best environment for their children. It is important to know what to look for in a school to ensure your child receives the best possible education for his specific needs. In some cases, that might indeed be the public school down the street, while other children may need a different environment to facilitate their learning process most effectively.

What are the Choices?

Many parents are unaware of the different choices they have in educating their children today. According to Education.com, some of the options available in K-12 education include:

Neighborhood Public Schools

It is important to learn about the various types of schools available nearby, so you can make an informed choice for your children.

Factors to Consider when Selecting a School

Once you know which options are available to you, it is time to determine the best environment for your child, based on the 10 steps we have outlined here:

Finding a Good Fit

To find the best learning environment, a parent needs to set the following four criteria outlined at GreatSchools.org:

  • What
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5 Most Expensive High Schools in America

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5 Most Expensive High Schools in America
Peek into what have been dubbed “Taj Majal” high schools, with a list of the five most expensive high schools in the country, how much they cost, and what they really offer students.
Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools

Almost two years ago, the most expensive high school in the country was completed in Los Angeles – the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools – to the tune of $578 million. There was plenty of hoopla to accompany the grand opening, as well as critics deriding the district for spending huge portions of their budget on such posh facilities. While this school still holds the record for the most expensive high school ever built, others fall in close behind, with state-of-the-art facilities most high school students across the country will never see. Dubbed “Taj Mahal” schools, these institutions offer first-class amenities, along with their eye-popping price tags.

Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools

The newest and most expensive of the Taj Mahal schools sits on the site where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, where the Ambassador Hotel was once located. While much of the original structure has been considerably altered to accommodate a school of more than 4,000 students, certain features of the original site remain. A marble memorial has been erected to remind students of the historic significance of the location, and some of the school areas boast the original names of hotel rooms. For example, the auditorium that is built where the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub once stood, and it boasts the same name and a tropical feel reminiscent of the original structure.

The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools was a project in the making for some time, as school officials wrangled with historic

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Are High Schools Doing Their Job? Not All, Says New Report

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Are High Schools Doing Their Job? Not All, Says New Report
A new report by the Center for Public Education found that some high schools are providing a rigorous enough curriculum to prepare students for college, while others are not. What is the definition of “rigorous”? We’ll examine that question and report on study results.

A new report from the National School Board Association’s Center for Public Education found that high schools vary greatly in their ability to prepare students for life after high school. At the core of this study appears to be a very important term that requires a precise definition: rigorous curriculum. We’ll take a look at what a “rigorous curriculum” looks like and whether high schools across the country are rising to the task of offering this type of curriculum to their students.

Rigorous Curriculum Produces College and Career Readiness

According to the National School Board Association, a “rigorous curriculum” is required to produce “college and career-ready graduates,” but beyond that statement, the processes involved in reaching that goal become somewhat murky. How do schools know if the curriculum presented to students is “rigorous” enough to ensure success? The report does take the time to define “rigorous curriculum” accurately to make it easier to assess high schools and their ability to prepare students for the future.

First, the website offers a definition of rigorous curriculum that was provided by the National High School Alliance, which reads, “An educational experience that leads to a common outcome – that all students are well prepared for post-secondary education, career, and civic life.” The definition goes on to state that rigor is characterized by a “steadfast focus” on increasing achievement through high-level coursework and aligning high school requirements with expectations for both college and career paths.

This video

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Evaluating Public Schools

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