The US News and World Report of Top High schools came out last week. It was brought to my attention from a Social Media post that stated something like, “So proud of our school; we made the top five high schools in Ohio.” I immediately went online and found the report; not so I could see where my school fell on the list, but so I could discover how the rankings were done. After all, with the right statistical measures I could be the greatest . . .. I hoped and prayed, there would be something about the development of qualitative skills necessary for successful employment, or at least something other than “test scores”? Deep breath . . .
In sum, the “broad range” of indicators are state tests, graduation rate and AP and IB tests taken and scores. You can read the entire description of the measurement system here. It generally looks like a composite put together by The College Board. At the top of the description of the measuring system is the platitudinous statement, “. . .a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show it is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.” “Broad range of performance indicators”, really? Test scores demonstrate how successfully we are educating? Educate - from the latin root, educere, which means to draw out to bring forth. Do we truly draw out from our youth their true potential by asking they perform on standardized tests? Are our youth more than proficient test takers? Do we wish for them to be thinkers, doers and innovators? According to the ultimate customer, the employer, we want more than test takers. Therefore, how do we measure which schools are truly doing outstanding work? What other measurements are there to determine the true quality of our work as educators? Check out the work being done to develop “a master transcript” at several high schools and colleges around the country. A new paradigm is needed. Leave a Reply. |
Author: Dan Jackson
Experienced Reflective Learner and Strategic Thinker with an ongoing track record of of innovative, adaptive leadership in education and business management. Archives
December 2019
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