Thoughts on Junk Indicators, School Rating Systems & Accountability
Over the past few years, co-authors Preston Green and Joseph Oluwole and I have written a few articles on the use, misuse and abuse of student growth metrics for evaluating teachers and for imposing employment consequences based on those metrics. Neither of our previous articles addressed the use of even more nonsensical status and status change measures for deciding which schools to close or reconstitute (with significant implications for employment consequences, racial disparities, and reshaping the racial makeup of the teacher workforce).
I have written a few posts on this blog in the past regarding school rating systems.
- Ed Waivers, Junk Ratings & Misplaced Blame: Jersey Edition
- Follow up on Ed Waivers, Junk Rating Systems & and Misplaced Blame – New York City’s “Failing” Schools
- Ed Waivers, Junk Rating Systems & Misplaced Blame: Case 1 – New York State
I’ve also tried to explain what might be appropriate and relevant uses of testing/assessment data for informing decision/policymaking:
- Cutting through the Stupid in the Debate over Annual Testing
- Friday Thoughts on Data, Assessment & Informed Decision Making in Schools
- Strolling through the PARCC (data)
It blows my mind, however, that states and local school districts continue to use the most absurdly inappropriate measures to determine which schools stay open, or close, and as a result which school Thoughts on Junk Indicators, School Rating Systems & Accountability | School Finance 101: