March 29, 2024

School ranking methodology flawed

Sue Atkinson

Baxter

For decades school superintendents arranged for articles boasting of their student proficiency improvement using the methodology of the Iowa Assessments (without mentioning the fact the standards were being lowered every three to four years when at least 50 percent of the students were unable to pass them) and the elimination of low test scores from the calculations — thus inflating the results.

The Iowa Assessments continue to be temporarily used and based on memorization rather than the application of concepts. Iowa’s low 41st National Percentile Ranking proficiency standard (when grade level is the 65th NPR) continues to inflate results, and yet U.S. News & World Report used both of these in their ranking of high schools around the country — as their methodology explains when you actually check it.

Not only were test results from a non-relevant test used, but the U. S. News methodology also lowered the standards they used for previous reports to accommodate the demographic groups considered deficient (part of the methodology of the past) — something the countries out-educating us do not do because of their focus on the effective teaching of grade-level concepts to all students. If the point was to determine which high schools are better preparing graduates for college or some higher training, then using a system in the process of being phased out is irrational. In 2015, the threshold ACT scores considered necessary for a chance at completing college were raised (from about a D- to a C-), reflecting the move in higher education to make their degrees internationally competitive. These threshold figures will continue to go up as more colleges stop dumbing down their offerings to accommodate students coming from deficient high schools relying on periodically dumbed down Iowa Assessments to artificially make themselves appear good.

These attempts to appear good rather than actually being good interferes with the quality of decisions made by school board members, by administrators, and by the public in making their position known to the ones responsible for results. Only tests measuring proficiencies by applying concepts at grade level provide a proper basis for improved decision-making. Every time a board member or administrator comments about problems with some demographic group, they demonstrate their continued tie to the poor methodology of the past rather than a commitment to the future level playing field with the rest of the developed world. Why are teaching awards still based on being liked rather than achieving results?

Methodology: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings