Skip to main content

Strangers Bearing Gifts

Social media was abuzz yesterday with word of a newly-released ranking that Ellicott City and Columbia ranked 3 and 8, respectively, as best suburbs for education in America. As a local blogger I received an email from the creators of the ranking, Movoto, along with a link to their article. My first response was: How did they choose? And, who are they?

It seems that the reponse of most other people was: Woo hoo! look at us! We rate!

Is it possible that we are getting a bit sucked into top ten rankings and click your town to supremacy contests these days? I wonder.

So, to answer my questions:

How did they choose?

  • Student-teacher ratio
  • Money spent per year per student (bolding mine)
  • High school graduation rate
  • GreatSchools.org rating (based on test scores for the area)
Who are they?


This is Movoto. They are a real estate company. The ranking appears to be a function of their blog. I don't really know anything else about them. I am not here to cast aspersions. But I would ask that folks actually look into the background of groups handing out rankings before accepting their accolades.

If you read the article you will see the words wealthy, affluent, spending, money. Close behind? Test scores, test scores, test scores. Possible conclusion--buy into these affluent suburbs and you will be a part of these high-ranking school systems.

The biggest and most reliable prediction of school failure is poverty. Conversely, higher test scores correlate with higher incomes much of the time. This is why Ellicott City ranks above Columbia--Columbia has a wider spread of household incomes. So what is this ranking really celebrating?

Yay! We have money! We bought expensive houses! Our kids will make the school system look great!

I have been a part of many conversations recently where residents are fed up with schools being defined by test scores. This is not what excellent education is really about. Included in that frustration is the knowledge that realtors reinforce this specious definition by steering families toward affluent areas and away from many Columbia neighborhoods based on test scores alone.

I love our schools. We have incredible teachers doing wonderful work every day. We have beautiful children to challenge, support, inspire. That is worth celebrating.

We don't need a pat on the back from a real estate company. We're bigger than that--aren't we?


 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more