I would check local and town-level newspaper coverage of school issues (try wickedlocal, for one) - it's a good way to get the scuttlebutt that no one wants to reveal to "outsiders" during school visits. Don't neglect reading letters to the editor! You may find out about big trouble brewing, redistricting changes, upcoming or recent cuts, gripes that go below the shiny surfaces of good test results, etc. Also, try hanging out in the parking lot at dismissal time and strike up conversations with other parents, or go to a playground near the potential school (if the weather is good) and try approaching parents.

Meet the principal. Ask the principal what he/she does to keep teacher morale high, and what happens when a teacher is underperforming. Trust your gut about the "feel" of the school, and your impression of the principal. It's a bad sign when the principal is unwilling to meet with prospective parents. The principal is the public face of the school, and its chief advocate.

Alix, that is very good advice. MCAS scores (whether they be high or middle-of-the-road) and reputation often don't tell the whole story. Local newspapers are definitely a good place to start getting a sense of what's going on within a town or district and what controversies you might want to avoid (such as budget battles, overcrowding, etc.). I agree that it's also a great idea to chat with as many parents as you can, as long as you keep in mind the fact that negative people always seem to be the loudest and most willing to share their thoughts.

A really important attribute of my kids' schools has been the percentage of kids going on to a 4-year college. Having peers that all expect to go on to college reinforces an atmosphere in which kids do their homework and take school seriously. I would also follow up with the school system to find out which colleges their recent graduates attend to gauge how well their graduates are perceived by colleges and universities. Don't settle for anecdotal information, get a list. Finally, find out what percentage of the high school kids take AP courses. Good high schools push all of their students to try AP, not just those with high GPAs. We picked the town we moved to when our kids were 4 and 7 years old, respectively, using these criteria.They are now both in colleges and we have no regrets!

The worst possible scenario regarding MCAS is being realized in the spring at the High School Graduation ceremonies across the state, when hard working students are denied their Diploma, because they can not pass the MCAS Test. How does this bode when President Obama discussed those kids that Dropped out & the need for them to Stay in School & go on to at least one year in college, otherwise they are failing not only themselves, but they are failing this nation? What happens to the students that stay in school & are just not able to pass these tests? I grew up knowing several kids throughout my school years that always had difficulty with tests. These policies regarding MCAS need to be changed

Once you've picked a town, you'll also want to learn about differences among individual grammar schools. We moved to Belmont because it has great schools, but have since learned that some are better than others.

We also didn't grow up around here and wish we knew more of this before signing up for the big 30 year mortgage. Also, see if you can find people in your target town who don't use the public schools -- why would they choose private over public? Helps to ferret out some additional info -- do families get turned off by middle school and look elsewhere, for example?

Ask parents what they could change about their school system if they could change just one thing.

I would also look for town support of the public library. I see this as a "canary in the coal mine." Many towns have severely limited the hours, cut staff and even closed libraries. In many respects this is "easier" than cutting school costs, but I view it as a big red flag.

I would also look for the extra-curricular activities. Do you think your kids would be interested in a good music, drama, or sports program. These are often first cuts.

Another question to ask - does your prospective hometown have a private education foundation that supports the school system? Even excellent systems like Newton, Brookline and Winchester rely heavily on private grants for funding for everything from professional development to classroom projects. Google "town name" and "Education foundation," most have websites that will list trustess who would be happy to tell you about the school system in questions.

All of the above are good indicators, but one might also want to look at access to charter schools. Often they are at the top academically. This enables you to not sink a fortune into a home, but get the best public education available in MA. Check out the recent Harvard/MIT studies on Boston charters, which performed as well as Brookline public.

Look at the arts/music programs. If those are well-developed, then the school has a substantial budget and great priorities.

Your article is INCORRECT - the Mass. DESE does provide profile information for every school district on its website for FREE (the websites you provided charge fees or require you to "join"). The link for the DESE profile page is
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/ and from there you can choose any Mass. District.

Thanks for the link, Mike. Actually, what I wrote is that the Mass DESE does not make district *report cards* available -- that statement is on the DESE website, too. But the profiles you mention are indeed there (and I linked to them farther down in the post). It's good to have the site itself, though, so thanks! -- LMA

this is a smidgen off topic, but notice how they spelled "evaluating" in the URL adress above. Interesting how they misspell a common word on an EDUCATION article!! Maybe we all should take the English Language Arts MCAS test, just as a refresher.

Thanks for your comment, thanksEZ. The URLs are automatically generated, but we can go in and fix them manually, and I'll do that right away. -- LMA. P.S. You spelled "address" wrong in your comment. Good point about the MCAS!

As a former teacher I would strongly encourage you to delve into what curricula they are using for Math and English. There are some trendy Math programs, such as TERC or Everyday Math that are widely used but with which you may not feel comfortable having your child learn Math. Ditto on English. There are entire that we have written off because of this for our own children.

Beyond that, there are districts where the reputation is good now, but funding cuts will be hurting the district for years to come. The failure of the Newton override comes to mind. This year Newton's class sizes are bigger than Boston's because their teacher's union contract has no language about class size, unlike Boston's.

Good ideas presented here. I would add: Parent involvement is a good indicator of how important schools are to the community. I would suggest finding the time to attend a PTO/PTA meeting where parents are involved and willing to talk to you.