Six Newton elementary schools were ranked among the top 25 elementary schools in the state, according to this list in the Boston Business Journal.
- Mason Rice (No. 3)
- Cabot (No. 10)
- Zervas (No. 13
- Ward (No. 14)
- Peirce (No. 19)
- Memorial Spaulding (Np. 25)
The rankings are created by Pittsburgh-based Niche.com Inc., and take into account “a number of factors, including an assessment of academic proficiency based on DOE and other data; a review of teachers’ salaries and absenteeism; student-to-teacher ratios; and state test results. Schools are also given a letter grade based on the racial and economic diversity of their student bodies.”
Wow. I am shocked, absolutely shocked, that Zervas is on that list. How could a school that is so large, so absolutely massive, possibly provide a top 25 education? I was totally expecting the complete breakdown of community that surely must have occurred when Zervas expanded would have manifest as a precipitous drop in all learning. And what about all those kids who can no longer walk to school? Not to mention the cars and all that traffic! Certainly we must be witnessing a miracle. There is no other explanation.
These rankings floated in PR Newswire are consistently useless, and particularly laughable when applied to elementary schools.
Thanks for the effort, Pittsburgh-based Niche.com Inc. I fell for your publicity stunt and visited your site – mission accomplished.
Alas I somehow don’t believe that you guys (and your half-based five-variable algorithm which was probably developed by 22-year-olds) are sufficiently enlightened to “find the schools, companies, and neighborhoods that are right for me.”
Of course, I speak only for myself – those of you who are inclined to believe that Carmel, Indiana is the #1 place to live in this country, click away!
Half-baked, I meant to say – not half-based. My brain is a little slow these days as I await the post-referendum opportunity to get fully-baked.
In summary: one of the richest zip codes in MA which attracts residents who are mostly affluent/high paying jobs and care about education and have advanced degrees have children who are born smart or heavily tutored…
Who would have guessed!
Good news is always welcome. I’m surprised that an education ranking company based in Pittsburgh of all places would generate this much excitement, Carnegie-Mellon notwithstanding. Like the previous posts
I’m a tad bit skeptical myself.
At least half of the schools on this list are not what I would consider beacons of “racial or economic diversity”, nor are the neighborhoods in which they are located.
Do we know for example how many African American or Latin American students attend each of these schools?
Assuming that these schools are rich in “racial and economic diversity”,
do these rankings measure the percentage of the students attending these schools that actually live in Newton or are they padding their rankings with Metco and “out of district” students? That wouldn’t be very nice. These are all hard questions, but surely they are worth answering. As everyone knows or should know by now, rankings mean diddly. They dont measure grit, determination, work ethic, mental resiliency, social and emotional intelligence, and a host of other traits and qualities that are more accurate determinants of a successful and fruitful life.
Paul
Why the focus on African American and latino…? Why asian,indian,european,muslim,african,native american doesnt count as diverse?
I believe a high percentage of newton residents are born outside of usa.. it certainly counts as diverse
@bugek
All people should be represented in our schools. I was giving the most blatant lack of representation that I have seen throughout my years living here. In many ways the city and schools are quite diverse, in others not so much.
A little bit of history. Sometime in the mid 1950s, Life Magazine ran an article claiming that Newton High was the 2nd best high school in the United States. I seem to recall that the number 1 high school was located somewhere in Pennsylvania. I don’t recall what this ranking was based on or who did it, but nobody here seemed at all surprised we were that good.
I also seem to recall that Life Magazine had another article that rated West Newton square as one of the five most dangerous areas to drive through in the entire country.
This is terrific. Congratulations to everyone that worked to get this.