'Beat goes on' Dept.

Posted by helen at 10:33 AM

Newsday asked today what we asked yesterday -- but they're getting about the same answers: Tom Dunn of NYSED said in an email the "target" date for report cards was late next week; in the article, bets are hedged to within the first two weeks of August.

And DOE belt-tightening doesn't seem to extend to travel, according to a July 29th report from City Comptroller (and mayoral hopeful) William S. Thompson. Oversights on travel expenses are presently nil at the DOE, the report said, leading to violations in bidding procedure, expensive out-of-town-retreats that could've been held locally (with no travel or hotel expenses), and DOE staff getaways in the Catskills where about a third of invited (and paid-for) participants didn't show.

The DOE didn't argue with the report's conclusions, and has "generally agreed" with the Comptroller's recommendations for additional oversights (more accountability!) and standard-operating-procedure bidding in the future.

Report cards, grad rates, AWOL as usual

Posted by helen at 9:25 AM

Just over two weeks ago, we asked -- and not for the first time -- about high-school graduation rates and school report cards. (The Times asked, too, but didn't get a clear answer.) The New York State Department of Education said in May that they would release the data by the end of June; nothing doing. In July, they said the data would post by the end of July. It's the 30th. Anyone here think we're going into August without knowing how schools did, and whether more kids are graduating than in years previous?

School report cards help parents (and professionals, like principals and teachers) learn more about schools by reporting detailed ("granular") data on enrollment, testing, teacher qualifications and more. The grad rate is the education acid test -- how many kids finish high school is a pretty effective yardstick, and the one against which Bloomberg and Klein measure their success.

The city and state disagreed for years on how to define and count high-school grads. This year, they've reached agreement on who qualifies as a graduate (excluding GED completers, for example). High schools rise and fall on grad rates and other accountability data; don't parents -- the taxpayers who support the schools -- deserve timely reporting on how the city's students are doing? The state and the city's DOE owe the accountability they cite as a foundation of responsible, progressive school reform to the people who pay their salaries.

Tardy report cards

Posted by helen at 7:46 AM

Over two weeks ago, we asked about delays in reporting the high-school graduation rate; why, we wondered, were school report cards and other data MIA at the end of the school year?

Today, Elissa Gootman's Times piece explores the question at length -- but guess what? There's no clear answer. Blame falls on pricey, whiz-bang data systems and on faulty reporting; fingers are wagged in many directions. But still, no data.

In an email earlier this month, Tom Dunn of the New York State Education Department said the report cards would probably post by late July. Well, we're halfway there. We're glad for the Times' muscle on this question, and hope that we'll know the grad rate before this year's rising seniors show up for school in September.

NYC's GPA?

Posted by helen at 8:20 AM

School's out. The kids have their report cards. But official school report cards, that show school stats and test scores? Not just yet.

State-generated school report cards are built on 2005-2006 numbers. City-generated Annual School Reports use old data, too -- data that predate the creation of dozens of new, small high schools, and omit principals posted since '05, and current counts of students and teachers. (This is especially crucial for young, growing schools; some have tripled in size and staff since the report cards were posted.) The New York State Department of Education has repeatedly said that updated report cards will post "around" the end of June. That's Monday; we're skeptical. (Last year, they posted before the end of May.)

We're also waiting for the city and state to release the much-anticipated high school graduation rate, the benchmark against which Bloomberg and Klein measure their Children First reforms. For the first time in decades, NYC's DOE and the NYSED are actually using the same basis for counting grads (in prior years, each defined grads in different ways, making direct comparison dicey). When will the grad rate post? According to Chancellor Klein, that's up to the State, too.

Grade the kids, grade the schools; rate the principals, rate the teachers. Along with reports on how their kids progressed, parents deserve current knowledge on how the city's schools are doing. Why is the wait for these reports stretching into summer?

Scooooooore: ELA and Math test scores released today

Posted by helen at 10:00 AM

At high noon today, the New York State Department of Education will present the 2007-08 English/Language Arts (ELA) and Math scores for students statewide, including New York City public school students. (We'll post a link when they go live, anticipated for noon.)

Of course, the official New York State report cards, available for most city schools, are two years out of date (with data from 2005-2006). Last year, new report cards posted in late May. This year, it's late June and we don't yet know when the updated report cards will go live. We've heard "end of June" -- but who's counting?

Update: Sorry for initial misdirect; here's the link to 2008 ELA and Math scores. It's an unwieldy pdf; we're looking for a more compact, accessible link.

Just heard from David Cantor of the DOE, who says they'll post city stats today; stay tuned.

Student Thought: Report Card Report Card

Posted by Seth Pearce at 11:54 AM

B

What does this grade mean?
Your [The Department of Education's Report Card program's] overall score ranks within the 45th-85th percentile among accountability strategies for an incomparably large school system. Although this is a step in the right direction for accountability and is necessary in a system this large, some of the factors you grade schools on are a little misguided.

School Environment- Out of 15%
A large problem with your report card is the meager amount of influence this section has on the overall score. Attendance should be seen as a major indicator of school performance. Students who go to bad schools will probably go to school less often and vice versa. If students are in the habit of going to school it is more likely that they will progress academically and proceed to the next level of education. Surveys should also play a larger role because parents, students, and teachers have great insight into schools' output.

Student Performance- Out of 30%
High-stakes testing is not a great way of measuring results. Test-taking requires an entirely different skill-set from learning. Its emphasis also reduces the amount of actual teaching and learning that takes place in our schools. However, it is still the most feasible way of assessing student performance and deserves to be a factor (albeit a smaller one) in a school's overall grade.

Student Progress- Out of 55%
Measuring student progress is a toughie and the McGraw Hill period assessments are a great way of doing it. Maybe with ARIS you can track a student's grades and how they've improved or worsened over time. Also: Tracking a student's progress from 8th to 9th grade is ridiculous and impossible. Puberty and the transition to high school make expecting all students (especially boys) to progress academically is unrealistic. After being a really good student in middle school it took me until my sophomore year to really get back on track. This section should bear less weight.

Additional Credit
I have to agree with Errol Louis on this one. It is a step in the right direction. Hopefully these assessments will show over time that principal empowerment is a good idea (as it has been at LaGuardia). Accountability is necessary. These report cards help spread the information to the public and let parents get a better picture on how their school is doing. However, the factors of assessment and their weights need heavy revision. Also, the system of relative letter grades will help the DOE and the other education wonks out there learn more about the benefits of competition between public schools in a system as large as New York's.

Joel Klein's new report card system gets a B. It's an interesting and well-intentioned concept but like Joel Klein's other programs, it is most definitely a work in progress.