When it comes to school district rankings in the Rochester area, socio-economics does play a role. That’s according to Scott Thomas, Projects Editor with Business First in Buffalo. The publication released its 4th annual Rochester area school district rankings today based on state test results and high school graduation rates. Pittsford remains in the top spot followed by Honeoye Falls-Lima in second and Brighton in third. Thomas says while the ranking doesn’t account for socio-economics because New York doesn’t account for it, he says it does impact the results.
"Every student, rich district, poor district, general education student, special education student, they're all held to exactly the same standards,” says Thomas. “Likewise, if somebody applies for a job, they're not giving breaks to students from under-performing districts. And if you apply to a college you don't get a break for that, so we're simply reflecting the real world situation,” Thomas says.
Thomas says the Greater Rochester area community has to decide, based on the rankings, if it’s important to equalize the situation between a Pittsford and a Rochester. The city school district ranked at the bottom of the list.
Next week Business First will release a series of specialized ratings reflecting teacher experience and employee salaries among other ratings.