Phoenix Public Schools
Before deciding on a Phoenix area neighborhood, do your homework on the public schools for that neighborhood first.
Phoenix area public schools are divided into districts, not necessarily correlating directly to cities. Each Phoenix school district has a web site with information on school boundaries, the schools that are included in the district, district news, etc. To get a complete list of school districts, go to the Arizona Department of Education. You shouldn’t necessarily pick a good school based on which district it is in, because there are great schools in districts that don’t necessarily rate high.
According to state law, school districts have an open enrollment policy. If the school has available space, a student may attend the school even if not living within the school boundaries.
Evaluating Phoenix Public Schools
Since your kid brings home a report card, no reason the school shouldn’t be graded as well. That’s just what the Arizona Department of Education does every year for every school within Arizona. The report card rates each school in one of the following categories (listed from highest to lowest performance): Excelling, Highly Performing, Performing Plus, Performing, Underperforming. In addition, the report card lists test scores, graduation rates, police calls, special awards, teacher experience and extracurricular activities.
To find a report card for a school, go to the Arizona Department of Education website and choose the "Find a Report Card" option.
In general, you should not judge a school solely on its report card score. Instead, take a careful look at the school’s safety record, the drop-out rate and the test scores. Remember also that a new school in a new development or a high school that is growing because of new developments may not necessarily be excelling today because of their quick growth, but may be a solid school in the future.
Phoenix Public School Test Scores
There's been a lot of bickering by all parties (parents/public school administrators/the media) about the AIMS test. The AIMS test measures student knowledge based on a set of Arizona standards and is required of all Arizona Public Schools. But it will also be used as a graduation requirement starting in 2006. Unfortunately a hefty 40% of that graduation class has yet to pass the test, and many of those are minorities. Will administrators water down the test so more can pass? Will they push the graduation requirements off a few years? No one knows at this point, but both may happen.
