The top 5 reasons to avoid a high school

Evaluating a school’s quality is is complicated. This is especially true with a high school, where student performance reflects not just how good that school is, but the effectiveness of every other school students have attended. But there are some good reasons to avoid a school, or at least think hard about other options.

Check out How to choose a school for your child. In our guide, you can see all the aspects of evaluating, visiting, and choosing the right school for your child鈥檚 unique needs. Then, you can search for schools near you.

It鈥檚 not safe.

Every school has shortcomings. But if the place isn鈥檛 safe, that鈥檚 a nonstarter. This isn鈥檛 just for parents鈥� peace of mind. Study after study has shown that have a significant effect on learning. If your local high school has a reputation for fighting or bullying there鈥檚 no bigger warning sign. After all, if the school can鈥檛 ensure basic safety, it鈥檚 likely that other priorities are going unmet too.
The instruction is poor.

This can be a hard thing for a parent to determine except by word of mouth from families with experience of the school. And even then, the reporting is likely being done by teenagers, who are not always the most neutral or best judges of what makes a good teacher. But in general, poor or low-quality instruction may be characterized by teachers who lack subject knowledge, have poor classroom control, behave unprofessionally, don’t offer support for students who need it, and fail to set goals for students or themselves. (Related: Check out our series on best practices in education to understand what to consider and look for in terms of high-quality teaching and learning environments.)
Kids aren鈥檛 graduating.

If the dropout rate is higher than 10 percent (check the school鈥檚 profile page on greatschools.org to see the graduation rate) at the school you鈥檙e considering, ask why. Are the teachers fully engaged? Are the students? Do kids advance to the next grade level without meeting basic reading and math competencies? There are certainly examples of great schools that still struggle with a core of underachieving students (these kids are failing despite the schools鈥� best efforts, not because of them). But when underachievement is the norm, it can be hard for anyone — kids or teachers — to swim against the current for long.
It isn’t serving all students.

When choosing a school, one of the most important things to look at is equity. Find the school鈥檚 profile on 九州直播 and see what the school鈥檚 equity rating is. This number reflects how low-income and other students from historically underserved groups do academically at this school; it also reflects the gap between the test scores of those students and students who aren鈥檛 from disadvantaged backgrounds. A low equity rating may mean some student groups are not getting the help they need, while a high rating means a school is closing the achievement gap.

Scroll down the profile page to where it says Race/Ethnicity and you will able to see test scores, measures of college readiness, and even discipline and attendance broken down by race and ethnicity. How well are students like yours doing at this school? Click 鈥渃ompare,鈥� and you’ll be able to see how this compares to other high schools near you.

Keep in mind that equity is an important measure for everyone. It takes a well-run and effective school to teach kids who don鈥檛 have a lot of resources. A high equity rating means a school is doing a good job of teaching all kids. Schools with high equity ratings are the exception rather than the rule, but they鈥檙e out there.
There are too many students and not enough teachers.

罢丑别谤别鈥檚 evidence suggesting that class size isn鈥檛 the holy grail it鈥檚 sometimes billed to be. But if classes are overcrowded and teachers are overworked, it may not be a great learning environment for your child. You want your child in a school where they feel known, have the opportunity to feel a connection to staff members, and feel that there’s a positive school culture.