School officials stand by test scores despite paper's findings
School officials stand by test scores despite paper's findings
An investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has identified about 200 school districts, including four in Washington state, that recently reported test-score gains the article describes as extremely improbable.
Seattle Times education reporter
Washington state scores
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution analyzed test scores in school districts across the country.The newspaper's methodology, which has been widely debated, included an analysis of scores between 2008 and 2011. The newspaper separated the scores into "classes" made up of all students in a given grade at a given school and used a formula to predict what each class's average test score should have been each year. If a class' actual scores were far off from the prediction, the class was flagged. Having 5 percent of classes flagged was "normal," the newspaper said.
Districts with scores identified as 'suspicious'
Kennewick School District: 12.9 percent flagged in 2008, 11.4 percent in 2009, 11.8 percent in 2010 and 7.9 percent in 2011
Mukilteo School District: 19 percent flagged in 2008, 8.3 percent in 2009, 6.7 percent in 2010 and 6.9 percent in 2011
Sumner School District: 9 percent flagged in 2008, 6.8 percent in 2009, 15.9 percent in 2010 and 13.6 percent in 2011
Tahoma School District: 15 percent flagged in 2008, 20 percent in 2009, 5 percent in 2010 and 0 percent in 2011
Other districts
Bellevue School District: 9.1 percent flagged in 2008, 13.6 percent in 2009, 8 percent in 2010 and 6.3 percent in 2011
Seattle Public Schools: 5.9 percent flagged in 2008, 3 percent in 2009, 6 percent in 2010 and 4.2 percent in 2011
Spokane Public Schools: 3.4 percent flagged in 2008, 7.3 percent in 2009, 4.2 percent in 2010 and 7.6 percent in 2011
Tacoma Public Schools: 4.2 percent flagged in 2008, 5.3 percent in 2009, 4.9 percent in 2010 and 6.3 percent in 2011
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (bit.ly/HLZlGy)
Read the investigation
See how your school district did in The Atlanta-Journal Constitution's analysis: bit.ly/GNrxOW
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A recent national news article raised questions about the reliability of student test scores across the country, but administrators in Washington state schools say they are confident the scores they're reporting are accurate.
The investigative article, published March 25 in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, appeared under the headline "Cheating our Children." It identified about 200 school districts — including four in Washington state — that recently reported test-score gains the article described as extremely improbable to have actually occurred.
The four Washington school districts were Mukilteo, Sumner, Tahoma and Kennewick.
The methodology used in reporting "Cheating our Children" has been widely debated since the