I have been living in a small town in NM for 5 years. The schools here test far below the national average. Time to go...

So, now I am beginning my search for the best public schools. Any ideas on how to find them?

Thank you :)

if there's a specific area you are thinking of, maybe you can call the admissions office of a nearby university, as they typically keep track of how "good" a high school is.

You can start here (http://nces.ed.gov/) at the National Center for Educational Statistics.

ETA: I just glanced at the site. It may or may not be what you're looking for. If not, I'm sure if you contact them they can point you in the right direction.

Thank you stonecrest and MsRuthieB. No, I am not looking at a particular area. I grew up in Washington State and love both Washington and Oregon. Two other places that I have lived in and liked a lot are Colorado and Florida (though the schools were not great in Florida). Yet, I am open to going to an entirely new state, as well. Vermont sure is pretty...

I would love to live in a town with a good public transportation system, and some vegetarian restaurants, but excellent schools are the most important thing to me.
I will now try your link, Ruthie. :)

I didn't really have time to scope it out at work. Let me know if that's what your looking for. If you need more sites or whatever let me know. I'll try and help you hunt stuff up.

I would love to live in a town with a good public transportation system, and some vegetarian restaurants, but excellent schools are the most important thing to me.

can't wait to have you back at boulder, mushroom. :)
(although i don't really know anything about the boulder public schools)

I think Newsweek puts out a thingie every year. Or Time. I forget which.

Have you thought about charter schools? They often are smaller in student size and offer a more focused curriculum.

Every state's Department of Education has lists of test rankings by school, by grade, etc. They are usually on the web and will answer your email.