I spend much of my time on this blog discussing college selection. But what about high school, middle school and even elementary school? For families who are in a position to choose your student’s school, how much does the school actually matter? And even more importantly, what’s the best way to measure the quality of a school for your student?
Jack Schneider, assistant professor of education at the College of the Holy Cross and the author of “From the Ivory Tower to the Schoolhouse: How Scholarship Becomes Common Knowledge in Education,” recently shared some of his findings on the topic in this Washington Post article. It’s worth a read for any parent trying to evaluate and potentially choose a school for your child or teen to attend.
School quality and selection can be a contentious topic. Parents sending their students to expensive private schools want to believe that their kids are receiving an advantage much as families without that option want to believe their kids aren’t being left behind. But the author points out if a family cares about education, their kids are more likely to care about education. And that foundation is what will make kids successful wherever they go to school. I hope it’s reassuring to parents to hear from someone in the know that the fact that you care so much about where your student attends school is what matters, whether or not you have the means or the opportunity to influence the choice.
And here’s a past post with my thoughts on choosing your student’s high school.