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Parent-Teacher Conferences Present Optimal Time for Parents to Provide School Rankings, Ratings and Reviews of Public Schools on SchoolMatters.Com

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 October 2008, 09:00 CDT

As parents prepare for parent-teacher conferences this fall, SchoolMatters.com, a Web site from Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services, provides parents a forum to contribute school ratings, school rankings and reviews of their children's schools. SchoolMatters.com is aimed at helping parents select the best public schools for their children and as a service to other parents researching school options.

"Every year, parents get an opportunity to hear from teachers how their child is performing, but rarely have a chance to start a discussion on how they feel their child's school is performing," said Thomas Sheridan, vice president of School Evaluation Services for Standard & Poor's. "Parents have communicated a clear desire for sharing public school experiences with each other, so we are providing them with options to provide school rankings, rate schools and write reviews. While we can populate the site with data such as test scores and demographics and comparison tools, the most valuable input is what parents think about a school."

SchoolMatters.com offers three levels of contributions from parents:

1. Rate Your Child's School: This tool allows parents to give anonymous school rankings using a five-star system.

2. Write a Review of Your Child's School: Parents are able to comment on their experiences with their kids' schools either using their name or anonymously.

3. Help Other Parents: When parents post reviews, they can elect to be a volunteer, allowing other parents to email questions about this school (email addresses are kept anonymous, and volunteers can stop getting emails at any time they choose).

In addition to sharing parent feedback, SchoolMatters.com Web site allows parents to:

 --  View comprehensive public school profiles including information on     test performance, enrollment, student demographics, class size, teacher     qualifications, curriculum, school news, extracurricular activities,     district spending and community profiles.      --  Access valuable public school information. From lunch menus to after-     school activities SchoolMatters.com provides links directly to school     websites so parents have easy access to additional information about a     school.      --  Analyze side-by-side comparisons of schools. Parents can select and     compare up to three public schools (within the same state) at one time     allowing for a comprehensive break down of the schools they are most     interested in evaluating.      

About SchoolMatters.com

Since its inception in 2001 as an independent, analytical resource for state and education leaders, Standard & Poor's (S&P) School Evaluation Services has evolved and become a valuable resource for parents. In 2005, S&P began providing parents and taxpayers with an objective analysis of school and school district data via www.SchoolMatters.com, a publicly accessible, interactive Web site. Due in large part to the popularity of the Web site, S&P has been able to engage parents across the country, all while continuing to serve as an objective source of information and analysis on our nation's public schools.

For more information, visit www.schoolmatters.com.

 Contact: Susan Shafer Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services 212-438-2193 Email Contact

SOURCE: Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services

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