Today as I was shopping at the mall I overheard two young mothers discussing schools for their children. One told the other that she “knew” a particular school that her child would attend was “good” because she had gotten online and determined that the school had good test scores. She also told the other mother that this was an important consideration for her because this would be “an eight year” commitment for her child. While I absolutely agree that this mother should be choosy and select the best school possible for her child, choosing a school only based on test scores alone does not ensure that this school will be the best fit for her child. When selecting schools, there are many considerations. First, what is the experience and stability level of the staff? Is the school made up of mostly brand new teachers or is there a good mix of experience levels available? What are the philosophies of the school? How do they teach reading? Do they use only a basal or are there plenty of books available to interest children in authentic reading tasks? How organized and well run is the school? Do things run “like clockwork” or is the environment chaotic and laissez-faire? What type of environment best fits the child’s personality? How much growth does each child make in this school? Believe it or not but gifted children can actually be “under-performing” if not stimulated appropriately but you would never know this from just looking at their test score data. Each of these factors must also be considered when choosing a school for a child. So, don’t just look for the school with the highest test scores. So moms – go visit the school, ask questions, sit in on a class or two and see what really goes on in the school you are considering. THEN determine if this environment truly will be the best match for your child for the next 6 or 8 years! You might be amazed at what you see.