Greatschools

With more than 40 million unique visitors each year, the school ratings site GreatSchools. GreatSchools is also licensed by real estate listing sites such as Redfin and Zillow, which allow potential homebuyers to easily see the school zones for houses for sale, or permit users to search for houses for sale that are zoned greatschools a particular school, greatschools. In addition to the ratings, greatschools, the site also greatschools reviews from parents, who can offer their own star ratings.

We conducted a data analysis of their 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. It can be hard to determine the quality of a school, though. Parents can use test scores as an indicator, or they can do their own research within their own social networks.

Greatschools

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. GreatSchools revamped its ratings in GreatSchools rejects the notion that its ratings contribute to segregation. Here is the paradox at the heart of GreatSchools ratings: They are available to all, which means they can help low-income families choose a school or pressure officials to make improvements. But they can also help affluent families cement access to areas other families cannot afford, while bolstering stereotypes that schools in certain neighborhoods are uniformly of poor quality. Watch a video produced in partnership with Vox based on the reporting in this story. When Bill Jackson started GreatSchools in as a project of a Silicon Valley business association, he personally visited schools in the Bay Area and talked to principals about how their schools worked. As GreatSchools expanded, first across California and then nationwide, that approach proved unsustainable. Fortuitously, the organization gained a new source of information: test scores for nearly every public school in the country, thanks to new requirements in federal education law. Around the same time, charter schools and other school choice policies were gaining traction.

EdWeek Top School Jobs.

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.

As an independent nonprofit, our mission at GreatSchools is to help all parents get a great education for their children and for communities to ensure that all students receive a quality education. We believe that every parent — regardless of where they live or how much money they make — needs reliable information in order to ensure their child is being served by their school. On our profiles, we strive to display a variety of indicators of school quality to provide a well-rounded picture of how effectively each school serves all of its students. Our ratings are intended to provide a better understanding of school quality and to help parents compare schools within the same state. We are constantly working with state and national agencies to acquire more representative school data in every state.

Greatschools

Over 49 million parents in the U. As a nonprofit, our mission is to provide 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. For school leaders, we offer resources to help you connect with parents and share more information about what makes your school special. As a school leader, you know your school best. For school officials who are looking to promote their school and encourage prospective families to visit or enroll, we offer two paid programs:.

Olivia ferrone

He studies how information technology affects the behavior of organizations and individuals. GreatSchools is an American national nonprofit organization that provides information about PK schools and education. Finally, she pointed to six schools in other cities that have a high share of low-income students and also earn high ratings. This preliminary paper , by Sharique Hasan and Anuj Kumar, shows that the GreatSchools score might actually make segregation worse. So proficiency rates would remain the primary ingredient in the GreatSchools formula — which meant most schools serving students from low-income families would continue to rate poorly. But that approach has its own drawbacks. Read more details about how Chalkbeat did this analysis, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about our findings. A white potential homebuyer was steered towards homes in Massapequa, N. Read Edit View history. Education Week. Myron Long, who is starting a charter school in Washington, D. And GreatSchools makes it easy: Almost every school in America is rated, 1 to GreatSchools says that its own website is fully accessible in Spanish , is written in an easy-to-understand manner, and allows for clear comparisons among nearby schools. Absolutely not, it is a good thing. It can be hard to determine the quality of a school, though.

As an independent nonprofit, our mission at GreatSchools.

While the Fair Housing Act forbids real estate agents from steering potential homebuyers of different races to different neighborhoods, a recent Newsday investigation found that many agents on Long Island were doing just that, sometimes using schools as a vehicle to do so. One-Time Monthly Annual. Read Edit View history. In , the site started building in a variety of data points other than test scores, including student academic growth when available, graduation rates, and Advanced Placement offerings and enrollment. Potential changes to enrollment rules and school zone lines that would integrate schools often prompt backlash from more advantaged parents. Data partnerships include:. Other research has shown that GreatSchools ratings can affect where families who receive housing vouchers choose to live — an indicator that low-income families are using the scores to pick schools, too. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. One research paper receiving renewed attention suggests an earlier version of the GreatSchools scoring system may have accelerated already existing trends of racial and socioeconomic segregation. Menu Search. The website provides ratings and comparison tools based on student growth, college readiness, equity, and test scores for public schools in the U.