Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Regions California vs the East Coast

I don't have any advice to give regarding CA schools but would like to make an observation. It seems from reading this board that California parents of gifted children very often feel compelled to send them to expensive private schools. California has a high cost of living, even assuming one sends one's children to public schools. Paying for 12 years of private school for more than one child, in addition to college, is very expensive.

It's my impression that most (but not all) people in affluent Boston suburbs send their gifted children to public schools. We do. Most MA public schools do nothing extra for gifted kids, but parents seem to think the public schools are tolerable.

Why the difference between CA and MA?

It wouldn't make any sense to compare as large and heterogeneous an entity as "California" with a much smaller, homogeneous entity like "affluent Boston suburbs." A more valid comparison would be with Westside Los Angeles.

My understanding is that the majority of Westside residents are happy to send their kids to the local public school, and cite it as a reason for moving there.

Maybe because in several "State Education Rankings" published, MA features as one of the top states for the quality of their education system and CA was almost dead last in the ranking for the past several years?