Better data needed to accurately rate school systems
By Jay Mathews
Monday, July 19, 2010Educational statistics expert Joseph Hawkins, one of my guides to the mysteries of test assessment, is impatient with the way the Montgomery County public school system is, as he puts it, "always telling the world how much better it is than everyone else." He finds flaws in its latest celebration of college success by county graduates, particularly minorities.
As a senior study director with the Rockville-based research firm Westat, Hawkins's critique has regional and national importance because it deals with theNational Student Clearinghouse. This little-known information source might become the way school raters such as me decide which school families and taxpayers are getting their money's worth and which aren't.
The clearinghouse has a database of more than 93
The clearinghouse has a database of more than 93