Re: Error found in school rankings

[Michelle Montali <michel1282@cox.net>]

> I think having a large number of "Gifted" students is actually a 
liability in the ranking system.  You'd need to certify 100% of your 
students as "Special Ed." to get a leg up on the "competition."
> From: Jo Ann Behm <jobehm@behmer.us>
> Date: 2006/04/10 Mon PM 01:01:18 EDT
> To: <ca-resisters@interversity.org>
> Subject: Re: [ca-resisters] Error found in school rankings
> 
> Wow...that's what I should do next.  Operate a school.  It would 
have the
> highest ratings in the land because 100% of my students, every 
last one of
> them, would be considered "Gifted and Talented" because every 
child is in
> his or her own beautiful, unique way.
> 
> And of course the school's ranking tells all...right!?
> 
> But my new school will have to wait.  Today,  I will be rallying and
> protesting with seniors at Richmond High school so these 
talented kids can
> get their diploma and get out from under this punitive testing 
system ASAP.
> 
> Jo
> ------------------------
>  
> Jo Rupert Behm, M.S., RN
> State and Federal Health and Education Public Policy 
Consultant
> Council Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) Government 
Affairs
> LDA National Healthy Children's Project Advisory Committee
> Collaborative on Health and the Environment-LDDI Workgroup
> Phone:  415-897-2426
> FAX:    415-897-8115
> email:  jobehm@behmer.us
> 
> 
> "Convincing Grown-ups to Enact Responsible Policy and 
Legislation When
> Deciding the Future of Children"  JRB January, '04
> 
> 
> 
> > From: George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>
> > Reply-To: <ca-resisters@interversity.org>
> > Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 01:22:21 -0700
> > To: <Ca-resisters@interversity.org>
> > Cc: <arn-l@interversity.org>
> > Subject: [ca-resisters] Error found in school rankings
> > 
> > Error found in school rankings
> > Comparison of similar campuses is pulled off Web for 
correction.
> > By Dan Nguyen -- Bee Staff Writer
> > Published Saturday, April 8, 2006
> > Story appeared on Page A3 of The Bee
> > http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/14240708p-
15060410c.html
> > 
> > 
> > The discovery of a miscalculation has caused the state 
Department of
> > Education to withdraw a ranking used to compare academic 
performance of
> > schools of similar characteristics.
> > 
> > The state said Friday it had omitted a variable - the number of 
students
> > whose ethnicity was unspecified - from its calculation of 
"similar schools"
> > rankings.
> > 
> > The erroneous rankings, which were released in late March, 
were pulled from
> > the state's Web site and are expected to be re-released in 
three weeks,
> > said Pat McCabe, the state's director of policy and evaluation.
> > 
> > These rankings have been released every year since 1999, 
when the state
> > created the Academic Performance Index - the API - based on 
a school's test
> > scores.
> > 
> > The similar-schools ranking compares the API of one 
California school
> > against 100 other schools that most closely share its 
characteristics and
> > challenges.
> > 
> > The comparability of schools is measured using 14 factors, 
such as parent
> > education level, percentage of English learners, average class 
size and
> > ethnicity.
> > 
> > The re-evaluation of the similar-schools rankings does not 
affect API scores.
> > 
> > Since its debut in 2000, the similar-schools ranking has 
sparked confusion
> > and controversy. The state had to recalculate the first year 
results after
> > it learned that schools had submitted incomplete data.
> > 
> > A parent in Southern California subsequently sued the state for 
not
> > releasing details of its rankings formula.
> > 
> > On Friday, opponents of the rankings system welcomed the 
state's admission
> > of an error.
> > 
> > Lynn Winters, assistant superintendent of the Long Beach 
Unified district,
> > said her district for years had dismissed the rankings as 
irrelevant.
> > 
> > "Mathematically, it's uninterpretable," Winters said.
> > 
> > "When you have a similar schools ranking, it needs to make 
sense to
> > people," she said.
> > 
> > But Winters said she took notice this year after principals had 
complained
> > about inexplicable and dramatic drops in their school rankings.
> > 
> > Winters believes there are other errors in the state's formula 
that will
> > necessitate an overhauling of the rankings system.
> > 
> > McCabe said the state's testing department will meet Monday 
with the Long
> > Beach district to hear its complaints. But he said there are 
complaints
> > about the rankings every year and they often stem from 
misunderstandings of
> > the system.
> > 
> > "There's a lot of disgruntlement around the similar schools 
rank," he said.
> > "A lot of it comes from people thinking that schools (on their 
lists of
> > 100) ought to look like them."
> > 
> > McCabe said schools are grouped together because of the 
amount of
> > challenges they face, even if the types of challenges are 
different.
> > 
> > This year's ranking gaffe comes in the same year that the state 
revised its
> > formula and added six new factors, including the number of 
gifted and
> > special education students.
> > 
> > San Juan Unified district officials believe the inclusion of gifted 
student
> > numbers might have resulted in several of its schools taking a 
dive in
> > their rankings this year.
> > 
> > Del Paso Manor Elementary saw its ranking plummet from a 
top rank of 10 to
> > a rank of 2. This means its test scores were in the bottom 20 
percent
> > compared to the 100 schools in its group. Only about a dozen 
schools
> > statewide fell as sharply.
> > 
> > Principal Phyllis Westrup said she was perplexed, because the 
school
> > actually increased its Academic Performance Index from 862 - 
which is well
> > above the state's goal - to 872. And she said the school's low-
income
> > students had made large increases in test scores.
> > 
> > "It's kind of hard to understand how your school could make 
such wonderful
> > progress and yet drop in the similar schools rankings," she 
said.
> > 
> > Donna O'Neil, San Juan's director of accountability, said she 
had not seen
> > the details of this year's calculation method, but has in the past
> > encouraged principals to contact schools on their lists and 
compare notes.
> > 
> > She suspected, however, that Del Paso Manor's number of 
gifted students -
> > nearly 40 percent of the school's population - put it in a more 
elite
> > bracket of schools.
> > 
> > McCabe said he expected complaints about the new formula. 
In the past, he
> > said, schools with small gifted programs complained about 
being compared
> > against other schools with larger gifted programs.
> > 
> > "You get complaints and concerns from people on both sides. 
You'll always
> > have winners or losers," McCabe said.
> > 
> > Long Beach's Winters said the fact that a school like Del Paso 
Manor could
> > be ranked so dismally despite actually improving academically 
was proof of
> > how unintuitive the ranking system is.
> > 
> > Winters said she supported the idea of comparing similar 
schools, but
> > wanted the state to find a different system for doing so.
> > 
> > "We don't mind the (concept). But the system they chose is 
particularly
> > complex and uninterpretable." she said.
> > 
> > About the writer: The Bee's Dan Nguyen can be reached at 
(916) 478-2653 or
> > dnguyen@sacbee.com. Bee staff writer Deepa Ranganathan 
contributed to this
> > report.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > George Sheridan
> > 
> > ----------------------------------------------------------
> > Direct questions about the list to listmom@interversity.net
> 
> 
>