School Ratings Thread - READ FIRST for school inquiries. (Atlanta: apartment complex, condos)

[globalnomad]

2010 US News & World Report: America's Best High Schools

Walton High School made it to the top 100 in 2010.

The rest of the list (public high schools) can be found here for Georgia:

America's Best High Schools: The List - Newsweek

Global Nomad

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by globalnomad

2010 US News & World Report: America's Best High Schools

Walton High School made it to the top 100 in 2010.

The rest of the list (public high schools) can be found here for Georgia:

America's Best High Schools: The List - Newsweek

Global Nomad

I think this post is confusing the US News & World Report list with the Newsweek list. Walton didn't make the US News & World Report list at all. One Georgia school did make the top 100: The Davidson Fine Arts magnet in Richmond county. It is #100 on the list.

GA: Best High Schools - USNews.com

[RainyRainyDay]

Further comment on those "best high schools" lists produced by magazines:

Most people would like to see their local schools on a "best" list, I think, and we're disappointed or concerned when our schools don't make the grade. It's important to be aware that the magazine lists (both of them) are prepared from some simple calculations that may not measure what's important to you.

For example, the USNWR list, which omits many of the best-reputed high schools in the metro area, starts its filtering by determining whether the school achieves better-than-average results on the GHSGT (Georgia High School Graduation Test) for its disadvantaged subgroups: low-income and minority (black and Hispanic) students. If you consider a school like Walton (mentioned above) and its highly-reputed neighboring high schools in East Cobb and North Fulton, most of these high schools likely have very few students meeting the disadvantaged criteria. Goodness knows whether this small subgroup is exceeding statistical expectations on the GHSGT! Is that a meaningful measurement, for these schools? I suspect that Walton et al. were dropped from USNWR's analysis at that point, before their high AP participation and passing rates could even be considered.

[modr8rzadums]

Best thing to do is look at the SAT scores for whatever group your kid belongs to... Asian, Caucasian, Black, Economically disadvantaged, special ed... etc. See how the group that matches your kid is doing in comparison to other schools that you are thinking about.

Newsweek and U.S. News are there to push an agenda... but not to report the school that would most likely succeed with your child.

[aries4118]

Here is some more information that I think is helpful for this Education/Schools thread--and directly relates to many of the education/schools issues we have here in Metro Atlanta and the State of Georgia.

The Answer Sheet - Ravitch to Obama: 'Change course before it is too late"



Read, Enjoy, and Learn!

[aries4118]

Easy-to-Read DeKalb County school zone maps--with a feeder pattern chart! Should be very helpful for many posters on this forum:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...l#post15070100



Enjoy!

[equinox63]

What are the differences between Clairemont Elementary, Oakhurst Elementary, and Winnona Park Elementary?

Also, are there any noticeable cultural, demographic, or economic differences between Decatur City north of College Ave and south of College Ave.?

[modr8rzadums]

Originally Posted by equinox63

What are the differences between Clairemont Elementary, Oakhurst Elementary, and Winnona Park Elementary?

Also, are there any noticeable cultural, demographic, or economic differences between Decatur City north of College Ave and south of College Ave.?

There are virtually no differences between the schools academically or demographically. Oakhurst has had slightly higher test scores, but the difference is nominal and should not be a consideration.

Culturally, there really isn't a huge difference culturally or demographically between north of College and south of College. North of College has a slightly more preppy/suburban feel than south of College, particularly the Oakhurst area which has its own commercial node and a relatively funkier vibe than the other neighborhoods. Oakhurst is probably the most diverse neighborhood, though that is rapidly changing. Oakhurst also probably has more families with young children (under 12) than the other neighborhoods since it was the last neighborhood to gentrify. Winnona Park is very "neighborhoodish" - it's like something out of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood but a little more hip. Economically, everything is very expensive in Decatur no matter what quadrant you are in, but the north central and northeast side probably have the most expensive houses. Northwest (Lenox Park, Westchester), Southeast (Winnona Park) and Southwest (Oakhurst) will probably cost you about 50K less for the same house that you would see in North Central (Great Lakes) or Northeast (Glenwood).

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by modr8rzadums

There are virtually no differences between the schools academically or demographically. Oakhurst has had slightly higher test scores, but the difference is nominal and should not be a consideration.

Culturally, there really isn't a huge difference culturally or demographically between north of College and south of College. North of College has a slightly more preppy/suburban feel than south of College, particularly the Oakhurst area which has its own commercial node and a relatively funkier vibe than the other neighborhoods. Oakhurst is probably the most diverse neighborhood, though that is rapidly changing. Oakhurst also probably has more families with young children (under 12) than the other neighborhoods since it was the last neighborhood to gentrify. Winnona Park is very "neighborhoodish" - it's like something out of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood but a little more hip. Economically, everything is very expensive in Decatur no matter what quadrant you are in, but the north central and northeast side probably have the most expensive houses. Northwest (Lenox Park, Westchester), Southeast (Winnona Park) and Southwest (Oakhurst) will probably cost you about 50K less for the same house that you would see in North Central (Great Lakes) or Northeast (Glenwood).

Very informative.
Thanks.

[Sweet Atlanta Peach]

Well, a lot has changed...we seem to be going in the other direction as far as progress. If I were a parent in some of these areas, I'd be concerned. I know that this shows all Georgia Districts, but focus on the metro districts.

GADOE.org - 2009-2010 AYP Report (http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ayp2010/search.asp - broken link)