<p>We did pick a different schoolout of state. Though we have school choice in our state and could have chosen any high school we wanted, they were all underperforming against the national average. Our local schools are over-crowded (averaging close to 40 per classroom even in IB programs), underfunded, and underwhelming overall. Its interesting, though, that every parent we know thinks our schools are above average to excellent because they only focus on how their school does against the state average, never mind that the top 10% of our schools statewide only comes in at 77% nationally, and thats only if you focus on the sad metric of how schools do on nationally normed tests.</p>
<p>Forget testing. We believe that instilling a love of learning and teaching students to think critically is what is missing from our schools. I like what a previous poster indicated, that college should be an expected by-product of the secondary education process, not its main goal. None of our local schools pursue broad and creative curriculums that challenge minds and move students to learn for the sake of knowledge. Instead, public schools focus on teaching to test results that determine funding; private schools teach to test results that they hope will produce impressive matriculation stats.</p>
<p>So, I agree with the poster who says run, dont walk, away from the situation the OP describes. To the poster who asks what you are running to, I say do whatever you can to find a place for your kids that puts the emphasis where it belongs on becoming a life learner. Then, college will take care of itself.</p>