The Status Quo Miracle District
Over the past two years I’ve spent a lot of time debunking ‘miracle’ schools and ‘miracle’ districts. The way it works is that some politician or journalist tells a story about how this school or district has come up with a way to get their high poverty students to score as well in standardized tests as their wealthier counterparts. Usually they just imply that a school or district has done this, instead quoting some contrived growth statistic, college acceptance numbers, or an ambiguously defined graduation rate.
When I debunk a school or district, it’s not to say that these schools are not doing a good job. They may very well be. But my purpose is to show that they are not doing a miraculous job and are certainly not proving that “poverty doesn’t matter” or whatever other cliche you prefer. I think that these miracle stories are dangerous
When I debunk a school or district, it’s not to say that these schools are not doing a good job. They may very well be. But my purpose is to show that they are not doing a miraculous job and are certainly not proving that “poverty doesn’t matter” or whatever other cliche you prefer. I think that these miracle stories are dangerous