Monday, December 19, 2011

Why Rank Schools? « InterACT

Why Rank Schools? « InterACT:


Why Rank Schools?

The following post was written for a feature called “Yes, but…” – part of the array of offerings atThoughts on Public Education.  John Fensterwald asked how California should measure school quality if not with the narrow, testing-based Academic Performance Index (API).  I was one of five respondents, along with state Senator Darrell Steinberg, former State Superintendent for Public Instruction Bill Honig, and education policy experts Fred Jones and Jeff Camp.  Please click here to see more of their biographical information and their responses, along with my contribution and the subsequent comments and discussions.
Imagine for a moment that California used letter grades rather than the Academic Performance Index to rate schools. If I were a parent whose child attended a high school with a “D” on its state