AISGW-NAIS Statement on Ranking

With this, as with all questions related to elementary and secondary education, we must keep our focus on the children’s best interests. The National Association of Independent Schools is and always has been opposed to the ranking of schools. The “best” school— public, parochial, or independent— is the one that uniquely meets the needs of each particular child.

In the independent school sector, each institution, in its mission statement, defines its own objectives: the kind of program and campus culture the school provides, and often, the qualities that will help a student to succeed there. These schools were not created from one mold. They have different missions, offer different grade ranges, curricular emphases, pedagogical approaches, and extracurricular programs. Some schools are highly competitive by design, others intentionally create a nurturing atmosphere in which certain students will thrive; some focus on the arts, some on mathematics and science, others on outdoor education. Different schools offer programs for different types of students— bright students with learning differences, the gifted, students of average ability, children who face particular challenges.

Independent schools are to be judged, through their rigorous accreditation processes, according to what they individually set out to accomplish. Ranking such wonderfully different schools against one another misrepresents the institutions, misleads consumer-minded parents about the factors that should be considered in the complex process of choosing a school, but most importantly, can hurt children. Ranking elementary and secondary schools is a de facto labeling of vulnerable children and adolescents and is inherently wrong.

Ranking of schools encourages a destructive competitiveness, leading institutions away from offering rich alternatives and toward a stultifying sameness. It is a disservice to the schools, concerned parents, and children, and therefore, to our society.

Approved by AISGW Board of Trustees, May 17, 2005

The "best" school - public, parochial, or independent - is the one that uniquely meets the needs of a particular child. The "best" school should fit a child's abilities and aspirations, and correspond to his or her family's value set.

Independent schools each have different missions, offer different grade ranges, curricular emphases pedagogical approaches, and extracurricular programs. Some schools are highly competitive by design, while other schools intentionally create a nurturing atmosphere in which certain students will thrive. Because each independent school in unique, ranking them against one another is illogical, unscientific, and hurtful to schools and students. Ranking also misleads consumer-minded parents about the factors that should be considered when choosing a school.

Independent schools are accountable to the public through the rigorous process of accreditation which judges them based on what they individually set out to accomplish in their mission statements. Schools are also accountable to the families they serve, who can elect not to reenroll if they are not satisfied.

The aspects of a school tha make it the right match for a child cannot be distilled into a score or rank. Choosing the best school takes time; parents need to consider what their child needs to thrive, and then find a school that can best meet those needs.