Independent nonprofit organization is first to provide parent-friendly test scores and school comparisons nationwide

San Francisco January 8, 2002
As President Bush signs the Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into law today, the nation's leading source of K-12 school performance data is poised to provide parents with the information they'll need to benefit from this landmark legislation.

GreatSchools.net helps parents choose, support and improve schools. It has school choice and accountability data on virtually every K-12 school in the nation, including test scores for public schools. Given the provisions in the ESEA, GreatSchools.net is ideally suited to serve parents who want to benefit from this new law.

Specifically, there are two aspects of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act that makes GreatSchools.net relevant for parents. Bill Jackson, President & CEO of GreatSchools, comments on both:

"The first reason why ESEA matters to parents is that Congress is going to identify thousands of under-performing schools. Parents who have children in those schools will be eligible to transfer their children to better-performing public schools in their area. With site features like Search by Address and Compare Schools, GreatSchools.net allows parents to identify and compare schools located near their homes."

"The second reason is that ESEA mandates that all 3rd through 8th grade students will be annually tested in reading and math by 2005. We'll all be learning a lot more about this federal requirement because all states (except Iowa) already do some form of student testing today. In fact, our principal reason-for-being is to help parents make sense of school performance data, whatever the source. High on our list will be helping parents understand the impact of ESEA requirements on their state and school."

About GreatSchools
The mission of GreatSchools is to provide parents with the information they need to choose schools for their children, track their school's performance, support their children's education and solve school-related problems. It is an independent nonprofit organization made possible by the generous support of foundations and corporations, including the Pisces Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Washington Mutual, Inc. Its Web site property at www.GreatSchools.net has served millions of parents and community members since its launch in 1998.