GreatSchools

GreatSchools is a United States national nonprofit organization that provides information about PK-12 schools and education. The website provides ratings and comparison tools based on test scores and other factors for schools in the U.S. As of July 2017, the GreatSchools database contains information for more than 138,000 public, private, and charter schools in the United States.

GreatSchools
Formation1998
TypeNonprofit organization
Location
Key people
  • Bill Jackson, Founder and Board Director
  • Matthew Nelson, President
Employees
35
Websitegreatschools.org

History

GreatSchools was founded in 1998 as a school directory and parenting resource in Santa Clara County, with seed funding from New Schools Venture Fund. The next four years (1999–2002), the school ratings expanded statewide in California and expanded nationwide in 2003. In 2008–2011 the College Bound Program was launched, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robertson Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.[1] In 2013 GreatSchools received a three-year grant from the Walton Family Foundation[2] and saw Zillow integrate GreatSchools information such as school search, school ratings and reviews into their real estate database.[3] In 2014, there was an expanded partnership with Maponics.[4]

Recognition and awards
  • GreatSchools received Outstanding Achievement awards in 2011 and Best In Class awards in 2009 from the Interactive Media Awards.[5]

Equity and Academic Progress controversy

In 2017, GreatSchools began using proprietary ratings called Equity and Academic Progress in addition to test scores to calculate schools' overall ratings. Schools with a small population of disadvantaged students were given an arbitrary Equity rating. The change had the effect of lowering the rating for many highly rated schools and raising ratings for poorly performing schools. The change has been a subject of considerable controversy with parents and teachers.

References
  1. How Can Schools Best Communicate with Immigrant Parents?, KQED, June 14, 2012
  2. Walton Family Foundation Invests $7.5 Million in GreatSchools to Reach 45 Million Users With Information on School Quality, Walton Family Foundation, March 13, 2013
  3. Zillow Launches New Schools Search Tool; Allows Shoppers to Search in Multiple School Areas Simultaneously, Zillow, September 12, 2013
  4. Maponics Adds GreatSchools Ratings and Reviews As Partnership Grows, Maponics, January 10, 2014
  5. Interactive Media Awards - GreatSchools Award Category, Interactive Media Awards, 2011
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