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This article originally appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser on January 6, 2000.

How Can Parents find the Best Schools?
by Ruth C. Ash

Chances are that if you were going to buy a new car you would think about it carefully. You might read the latest consumer review, check the Internet, and quiz knowledgeable acquaintances. You would want to know about a model's quality and reliability, its average miles per gallon, its safety features, and its comfort level. You would probably ask others about their experiences with particular dealerships to see which ones had the best reputations. All this effort just to change an automobile.

Over the years it has amazed me to realize that people who otherwise take great care in making major life decisions think nothing of moving their children to a new school setting without making the same careful judgements.

In contrast, a friend of mine called recently to say that her family was moving to another city. "I want my children to go to a school that ensures that they learn and that also nurtures them as the sweet and wonderful individuals they are. How can I know what a good school looks like? What specific things should I look for in the classrooms? What should the teachers and students be doing?"

It was refreshing to hear her reflect the concern that is sometimes missing in otherwise bright and caring parents. There are, of course, many indicators of school quality. Test results can be compared to those of other schools and can be tracked over time to determine improvement. Nevertheless, there are other, even more important signs to look for in assessing the quality of a school.

The best and most effective schools have clear and concise answers to essential questions: What is the school designed to do? What should the business of the school be? Who are the customers? What needs do they have, and how can they best be served? Does the school have products? If so, what are they? How can these products be improved?

Their answers to these questions should reveal whether administrators and faculty work together to achieve the shared purpose of the school, which is to design and invent challenging, engaging, and intellectually demanding work for students. This kind of quality schoolwork is necessary in order for children to learn to think, to solve problems, to reason, and to use their minds well.

So I told my friend to visit schools and classrooms; talk to teachers, administrators, and parents; and look for answers to the questions above. In addition, I suggested the following questions.

• Have standards been developed at each grade level? Are a variety of methods (report cards, nationally normed tests, and performance assessments) used to report student progress to parents and students?
• Are computers used to promote learning? Are they integrated into the classroom educational program and supportive of the curriculum?
• Are students engaged in the learning process? Does the subject matter being taught seem to be important for that grade level?
• Do samples of student work, often exhibited on bulletin boards and walls, in student journals and portfolios, reflect high standards?
• Are teachers knowledgeable in the subject areas they teach? Do they use different teaching styles for different types of content and different types of students? Do they make the subject interesting and engaging for students?
• Does the school send timely information to parents that explains the purposes of assignments and how parents can help at home?
• Are too many topics covered just for the purpose of covering the curriculum? Or are fewer topics covered but in greater depth? (Results from the recent Third International Mathematics and Science Study indicate that American schools try to cover too much material at the sacrifice of teaching in-depth mathematics skills that will help children for life.)
• How good is the school leadership? Do the principal and assistant principal have strong teaching experience? Do they communicate well with parents and teachers?
• Do administrators and teachers work together as a team? Are parents and students involved in decision making?
• When there is a problem, do teachers and administrators review and revise processes rather than blaming people?
• Are decisions based on facts and knowledge rather than on opinions?

There is some good news for my friend and for all parents concerned about American public education. A report by The Center on Education Policy in Washington, D.C. outlines a number of improvements that have been made since 1980. Student achievement in science and math has increased. In 1998, students achieved the highest mathematics scores in 27 years. The number of students taking AP exams has tripled since 1984. The percentage of students completing a core curriculum has increased from 13 percent to 49 percent, while the dropout rate has decreased from 20.5 percent to 15 percent. The number of young people pursuing a postsecondary education has increased from 47 percent to 65 percent.

All of this is good news for education in general. It means that my friend may more easily find an excellent school for her children. However, it does not mean she can take the quality of her local schools for granted. She still has to do her part. She has to kick the tires, find out about the quality and the mileage record and the reliability. She has to ask the questions. It is her job-she is a good parent. After all, it is the year 2000 and the future of her children is at stake.

Ruth C. Ash is the Dean of the Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies at Samford University.