One of the main factors of house hunting for many families is the public school district it is located in, which can substantially affect the value of the property. Thus buyers moving in from out of town ask me frequently what school districts are the best.
Below are links to four different websites that rank public schools across the nation, I have narrowed to Missouri results. Information on private schools are not as easy to find. Of course, they all use different criteria thus affecting the rankings. Ladue high school, long considered one of the best in the area, is listed as extremely high (3 out of 528) on the US News list, but only 7 out of 10 on GreatSchools. Zillow and Realtor.com have incorporated the GreatSchools system and make those rankings available on each home listing for easy reference. Those are not ranked in relation to each other, just on a scale of 1 to 10 but includes middle and elementary schools. While rankings based only on state-supplied test results is the quick and easy method, they can vary significantly year to year, and do not take into consideration other factors you may consider important. There is no easy answer to the best school for your family other than doing some research, asking questions and visiting the schools.
FYI: (1) We put our 2 kids thru Parkway South and think highly of it, although there are many excellent schools in the area, public and private, in STL County, city and surrounding counties; (2) I attended Lutheran South.
Niche:
https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-school-districts/best-overall/s/missouri/ — based on eight factors including academics, diversity, health/safety and sports.
GreatSchools:
http://www.greatschools.org/missouri/ — each school is given a number from 1 to 10 based on test scores in most states, including Missouri. Student Growth and College Readiness are added factors in certain states like IL.
SchoolDigger:
https://www.schooldigger.com/go/MO/districtrank.aspx — based on test scores from the MO Dept of Education.
US News:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/missouri — public high schools based on state testing adjusted for economically disadvantaged students, graduation rates, and college readiness (AP testing).
Happy Schooling!
Gary Hoeferkamp, Broker - Owner of Hoeferkamp Real Estate 