Do School Rankings Really Matter While Taking Admissions?

by Samiksha S. Author

It is indeed a matter of pride to declare that you are enrolled in the best preschool in Greater Noida. If the media and magazine school rankings validate the same, your self-appreciation increase by that many folds. But educational experts over the past decade has questioned the use of rankings as the sole factor to take admissions. Each year, the ranks change. And if you stick to that list, you will have to change schools every year which is naturally not a realistic idea. So, sticking to the top 5 or the top 7 might seem like a viable option but still, rankings are not the best absolute indicators. Academic counsellors suggest to look into more factors, delve much deeper than the tip of school rankings.

The top 10 list is a good start

When you are just initiating your research as to which school should you enrol your child into, the school rankings of the top 10 schools in Greater Noida West is always the right place to start. It narrows down your search list from a myriad of options and converges your vision to a few specific schools that are sure to have all the right facilities. Every ranking list collects a lot of data from these schools. They include factors like available infrastructure, student to teacher ratio, board exam performance over the past few years and the institute’s performance in inter-level competitions. As obvious, you will want to check this data as well. And the ranking lists do the job for you. Hence, to begin your quest to search the best school, you must look into school rankings.

However, ranks do not capture everything

First, there are a few intangible factors that cannot be captured by data. For instance, the intellectual progress of a particular student throughout his/her school years cannot be reflected in the average test scores of the school. It is not possible for ranking agents to track one student. Yet, the school plays a vital role in adequately educating that child. Similarly, rankings cannot capture the emotional and social development of the school’s students. Did the students really benefit from going to school rather than staying at home?

Second, it is easy for schools to rank by merely maintaining the required parameters to top those lists. They can build their institutes over expansive areas and fill their libraries with unnecessary books and they will rank. But as a parent, you will want your child to study in a school that adds value. And value is determined by the quality of teachers the school possesses. Ranks can barely show that. You can only evaluate the faculty by visiting the premise and interacting with them. Interpersonal communication is the best way to judge a school’s academic depth.

Lastly, school rankings also cannot capture academic diversity. Almost any school can strictly adhere to the CBSE curriculum, prepare students to take standardised tests and ultimately score well in the boards. Such a strategy year after year will yield results for the school but will do no good to the students. You can term only that school as the best who focuses on inciting academic engagement, conducting valuable assessments and imparting life-skills that will help the students to thrive in their future. This is a school truly worthy of enrolment.

Ranks are a good guide but a bad master

The best nursery school in Greater Noida might or might not rank in a particular paper but it will surely have the other intangible factors that matter more to complete education. Plus, you need to keep in mind that the agencies update their ranks every year to keep the list fresh and often, depend on data provided by the school. Unless collected by some independent researcher, the provided data is often questionable. Naturally, the best strategy is to allow the rankings to be your guide. But never let it bias your mind. Summon your conscious mind to evaluate more into the schools and take every parameter into account before settling on one.

The BGS Vijnatham school is an institute that pays little attention to media rankings. The focus is more on all-around student education and progress. The infrastructure is built to help the students to succeed and the curriculum is designed to place learning at the forefront. The faculty is a diverse group of educators. And the administration is a group of spiritual leaders with values rooted in academics. BGS rises to the epitome of education through its intangibles while the rankings come to it as a by-product. The actual pride lies in education. If every student gathers the treasure of knowledge, then his/her schooling can be deemed successful.