Ok, ive done a lot more testing on these trying to get um too see whats really going on.

Ive come across a few observations.

Im pretty sure the students need to graduate to get the effect. I was told that wasnt the case but after some watching on them a while it seams that the effect hits when they graduate.

putting them near homes, seams to help them increase graduation rates.

A few problems that i think some minor changes to them that could really help them increase the rate..

Raise age to 7 years old.. Clogging up a slot for 4 year olds doenst help much, that mean they could spend as many as 16 years in grade school. thats just way to long..

On the other end, Give them a mandatory age to graduate of 14.. this is the earliest that kids can goto work, and also is the starting point of highschool. those 4 extra years that many stay in grade school really does clog up slots and really slows the graduation rates, as basically you are keeping others from going to school

Increase the number of students to 16, even if that means adding another teacher to the mix..


Dont kick kids out of school if a teacher leaves work. Im sure some people might use this as an exploit, But for such a small amount that might use that and micro manage gradeschools contantly just to save a few dollars on a teachers salery.. The amount that it would help keeping kids inschool to graduate would really help in this situation. and to me far outweights the chance of using at a exploit.

When kids get to be close to graduate, a teacher moves jobs, or dies and then all those kids get droped. when a teacher fills the spot 9 times outta 10 its a whole new batch of kids. With schools always being full, the chances that those kids that were in school and getting back are slim at best.


I think these minor tweaks to the system would greatly increase the grade school system. A big island shouldnt have to have 20-30 grade schools, But get by with just a single highschool and collage. It just doesnt make sence.. I also wouldnt mind if the time it took highschoolers and collage students time to graduate was increased a bit as well. Make school make a little more sence over all.. perhaps a large island would need a couple highschools and collages, and reduce the number of gradeschools needed to a fairly reasonable amount

just for the record, all my testing has been done under spelling bee.

It seams that there is a bug related to one of the campain missions, i think its 3rd or 4th, this increases intellegence to exceptional after a while in all students, and gives them a random job skill as well.

they also get a skill of teacher, but dont lvl up in it, similiar to what happens to criminals, im not sure why

Personally, I feel the grade school needs to be resized. It's bigger than the high school (though only slightly) and doesn't really seem to be a very good use of space for the amount of customer slots it has.

Add more slots or make it smaller, so we can place them more strategically and in greater numbers (as they just attract kids from the whole island, it be nice to have one in every community).

I never build grade schools. I dont feel like the benefit you get from them is worth the cost in real estate. They are big as hell & you need a bazillion of them to have every kid going to school, & even then they never graduate.....

yea.. thats kinda my point about them... honestly.. with bigger islands.. space isnt an issue anymore.. its more about getting them placed right.. and near homes..


Perhaps they need more testing.. do the kids need to visit the school a certain number of times before they graduate? is it an age thing? what about the differnt settings? I only have been testing spelling bee..

It does seam that they need a little tweaking.. But what?

If you plan your apartment areas like a big square, with market place, hospital and cathedral at center, and you are able to put grade school to the center too, you will get graduates. Not as fast as with high school, but still you get some. About grade school being useful... not in my opinion, but I always build it anyway

The only times I build a grade school is when missions that I want to complete have it as a requirement.. or when I randomly get them for free XD

i tend to use them as daycare services so children dont clog my Cathedrals... stoopid kids dont even vote.

speaking of which, i wish there were daycares for youngin.

-oh, and the best part about this thread is the title. you will be missed, betty boom!-