[quote=Essbee]Interesting. I’m pretty happy to have just bought in South 4S Ranch with the following:
Stone Ranch Elementary 963 10 / 7
Also, Del Norte now has the top scores in PUSD.
(Admittedly, this is all splitting hairs and my kids will not be in HS for 12 more years or so…)
And yes, I realize that schools in La Jolla and Carmel Valley are a bit higher. 🙂
I’m a bit confused by the whole “statewide rank” and “similar schools rank.”
I guess the first compares you to all schools, and the second compares you to schools with a similar demographic or income.
But here’s where I get confused:
Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School District:
R. Roger Rowe Elemntary: 951 10 / 10
I am really interested that it has a 10 in similar schools with a score of 951, while my local school has a 7 in similar schools with a score of 963.
Does this imply that the demographics of 4S are in a higher category by some measurement (surely not income!) than the demographics or RSF?
Or, if it is income-based, does it mean that the kids of top income earners statewide (RSF and similar areas) actually have a lower average score than the kids of upper middle class professional types who live in 4S?[/quote]
Essbee, the bulk of properties located inside the covenant (RSF being one of those areas) are MUCH older than those in 4S Ranch (which I presume attracts mostly young families headed by one or more “professional worker-bee” parents).
This is NOT the case with RSF. The majority of households there are likely headed by retirees and small biz owners (who live off investments and profits). Believe it or not, one could purchase a <=3000 sf SFR (likely "cosmetic fixer") inside the covenant just 20 years ago for $275K to $400K! Just because SFRs located in a particular exclusive "enclave" in CA (ie. LJ Muirlands, RSF/Fairbanks, Palos Verdes, Pebble Beach) are "expensive" by today's standards, doesn't necessarily mean that the bulk of its owners are necessarily "highly-educated" or even have any minor children in residence. I have absolutely no doubt that many of the RSF's owners *grandchildren* are a large segment of the children who attend RSF's elementary school(s). It's very possible that they and their parent[s] (the children of "covenant-homeowners") actually reside in the parents home. These "parents" aren't necessarily "highly educated." There is always a reason young parents bring their children “back home” to live with parents.
It’s such an oft-touted fallacy on this site that average AGI on income tax returns is somehow a measure of an area’s residents’ “net worth” or “wealth.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Often, a higher median AGI for any area simply means the population there is younger overall and is currently paying more income tax. In addition, this younger, “higher-taxable-income worker-bee set” is more often than not MUCH more indebted than its forebears who often have little to zero mortgage and zero consumer debt.
In fact, Essbee, the area you left in Clairemont likely has far more owners with a MUCH higher “net worth” than the area you moved to!
I don’t know exactly what criteria greatschools.org uses to rate schools’ demographic data. It may be have to do with the teacher-student ratio or the amount of applications parents file with the district to obtain a free or reduced-price lunch for their child(ren) at a particular school. Just because a school is located in RSF, LJ or PL doesn’t in any way mean the bulk of their students’ parents are necessarily of means or that they or the student(s) grandparents are even qualified to help them with homework. The students’ parents could very well be living in subsidized housing in the area, have transferred their kids to that school from another area or be living with their parents or more established siblings due to their inability to earn enough money to support their children.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many (mostly senior) homeowners I know who own valuable paid-off residences in SD’s finest neighborhoods and possess only a GED, previous state occupational licenses, “ROP” Certificate, a high-school diploma … or even less.
In a nutshell, in more established areas, educational level of homeowners has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with property values or net worth of the residents there. Hence, some of the schools in those well-established areas which greatschools.org has rated lower are actually very good schools. The student-teacher ratio is typically less because there are less students living in the attendance area and less transfer applications because the “low” (lol) API score scares many parents from making application to these schools.
