Rating our schools

We have good schools in Westwood. We don't need U.S. News and World Report to confirm that, but it is always great to see some recognition. Over 10 years ago, I worked with a guy in San Francisco, Bill Jackson, whose dream was to improve K-12 education by giving parents access to more information and stimulating their involvement in the schools to make good schools "Great Schools." You can see the fruits of his labor at greatschools.net, a website that allows you to compare schools, write reviews, and track improvements over time. I was happy to find that the Westwood Schools all receieved 10/10 ratings from greatschools, but it is based entirely on MCAS scores. As parents and educators, you can visit the site and write reviews and/or provide more information to better complete the picture--as has been done by parents in Wellesley, etc.

It's not a competition, although of course you will do as I did and look up your school and then sort by test scores to see how others did. The idea behind greatschools is to provide a basic starting point using public data, then encourage parents and educators to supplement that information with more specific details.