School Ratings Thread - READ FIRST for school inquiries. (Atlanta: living, statistics)

[blakeas]

where do I find where the best elementary schools are here in atlanta? compared nationally...

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by blakeas

where do I find where the best elementary schools are here in atlanta? compared nationally...

How do you propose making such a comparison? Most school comparisons that exist are comparing high schools, and the lists that I've seen use criteria that many people find questionable or imprecise at best.

[blakeas]

So how do I find out which elementary schools are best in the metro atlanta area?

[RainyRainyDay]

Blake, what do you mean by "best"? Are you interested in public or private schools? Do you care most about standardized test scores, fine arts, teaching philosophy, racial diversity, ...?

There isn't a single yardstick on which people widely agree.

Your question is very much like posting "Which primary care physicians are best, in the metro area?"

[blakeas]

Public elementary schools in the metro area. I am talking about public schools that are basically private schools. As I have heard that most georgia public schools are not good.

Please help with which elementary schools are good. thx

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by blakeas

Public elementary schools in the metro area. I am talking about public schools that are basically private schools. As I have heard that most georgia public schools are not good.

Please help with which elementary schools are good. thx

I'm not sure that the information you're working with is completely accurate.

There are many good public schools in the Atlanta suburbs, as some of the folks here on City-Data will tell you, and most of the best high schools in the entire State of Georgia are suburban public schools.

Which area are you talking about? Unless you work from home, your location relative to work will be a very important determining factor in where you live.

[blakeas]

We both work downtown. We cannot afford to buy a home in buckhead in sarah smith or in the highlands for morningside. Relative crapboxes for 400K - We can only afford 250 to 350.

We had been living in Roswell/East cobb - we moved here because of the schools but the commute has been dreadful. We just sold our home and are moving to smyrna to live in a rentall home for a short while. We have enrolled our 3 yr old in Primrose.

However, we want to buy a home in 2011 so I am trying to figure out where the best schools are, where we can afford as well, and have relatively no commute.

The reason I like smyrna is it is real easy to get downtown - just go atlanta rd. we wont have to fight 400 or the connector anymore. we can finally have family time.

We have heard good things about decatur schools, morningside, sarah smith and brandon, dunwoody sandy springs.. However, I wanted to find out myself about elementary schools in the areas and see the rankings comparitively nationally with other elementary schools. How do I find that? How do i research public elementary schools? Ideally I would want a good middle school as well.

[oakhurstlauren]

Decatur schools are great, try greatschools.org?

[RainyRainyDay]

Blake, to a large extent, in the real estate market you get what you pay for. You want low crime, a nice house, excellent schools and no commute? That costs a lot, as your researches have uncovered. Why do you think people live out here? (Coincidentally, I'm in your old Roswell/East Cobb neighborhood).

I don't know intown Atlanta, but oakhurstlauren is correct that many people use greatschools.net as a research tool. Another area that you haven't already mentioned is Candler Park, but I think you'll find the housing there relatively expensive too. You may want to look at neighborhoods which are a little less well-established, gentrification-wise. People seem to have good things to say about the Neighborhood Charter School in Grant Park, for example.

[blakeas]

I understand completely... So i just use greatschools? isnt that an internal rating? how do I compare and see actual national rankings?

Yeah, I am the one on gilhams that just sold - I move out soon...