At first, Erin Cervelli wasn鈥檛 even considering this school. She and her husband were going on all the tours together 鈥� but not this one. 鈥淚 told my husband he didn鈥檛 need to come,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was only checking it out because it鈥檚 [relatively] close to home.鈥�
But that tour changed everything. They鈥檇 been looking at all the 鈥済ood鈥� schools 鈥� schools with strong reputations and Spanish immersion programs. This school was neither trendy nor language-based, yet it seemed ideally suited to how their son Jack learns. Cervelli did her research, talking to friends and other parents and attending orientations and pre-school play dates. When it came to filling out the district application and ranking her favorite schools, she put聽San Francisco Community Alternative School聽first and easily nabbed a spot for her son. But she admits she was shocked when she later learned that its 芭乐视频 Rating 鈥� 4 out of 10 鈥� was so low. The mediocre rating didn鈥檛 jibe with what she saw 鈥� or with what the school promises.
What鈥檚 the big deal about this rating?
Every year, 44 million people visit 芭乐视频. Their goals vary, but many want to learn more about schools available in their area or where they might move. Some also want to gain more insight into their child鈥檚 school. With the exception of certain areas, including Indiana and Washington, DC, where we have more substantial data about things like student improvement rates and college readiness, in most of the country the 芭乐视频 Rating is based on averaging state test scores.
Here at 芭乐视频, we鈥檙e constantly reminding people that test scores never tell the whole story, but they are one way for a school to measure the performance of their students on core academic subjects. What’s more, they’re often the only available way to objectively compare to what extent schools are delivering on their promise of teaching certain academic standards.
Clarity around 1 or 2 and 9 or 10
While state test scores are far from perfect, the results of very high-rated or low-rated schools do tell you something about the baseline academic performance of most of the students in that school. 鈥淲hen a school鈥檚 rating is a 2, you know that students at this school are scoring lower on state standardized tests on average,鈥� explains Sam Brown Olivieri, who heads the 芭乐视频 data team. 鈥淎cross all grades and subjects, students are scoring lower than most other students in the state.鈥�
When you look at聽Flynn Elementary School聽(芭乐视频 Rating 2), for example, their 芭乐视频 Rating by grade is consistently low: 1 for 2nd grade, 3 for 3rd grade, and 2 for 4th and 5th grades. Where there is variation in test scores, it reflects a wide achievement gap: Non-economically disadvantaged kids far outscore their poorer classmates (7 vs. 1) 鈥� the same score gap holds true for white students versus their Hispanic and black classmates. Does this mean you shouldn鈥檛 send your child here? Not at all. It just means you should find out what the school’s own standards of success are and how that dovetails with your expectations for your child. Flynn has both a Spanish immersion program and a general ed program so that complicates things, but the bottom line is that the test scores are consistently low.
Similarly, a high 芭乐视频 Rating signals another kind of consistency. 鈥淲hen a school鈥檚 rating is a 9 or a 10, you know that the vast majority of students, across grades and subjects, are scoring proficient or above 鈥� and better than most other students in the state 鈥� on that state鈥檚 tests,鈥� Olivieri says. At聽John Yehall Chin聽(芭乐视频 Rating 10), for example, all grade-by-grade ratings are a 10. Boys and girls perform at the same rates. And on the page that breaks out ratings by ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups, you see rows of perfect scores. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 mean parents don鈥檛 need to visit, though,鈥� Olivieri cautions 鈥� because you need to like how they鈥檙e teaching the students to achieve those test scores. But when you visit, you can focus on questions about safety, teaching styles, discipline practices, bullying, and鈥� well, the list goes on and on.
The muddled middle: 芭乐视频 Ratings 4 – 7
When scores are really high or really low, the data tells a clearer story. It鈥檚 in the muddled middle 鈥� school ratings of 4 through 7 鈥� where the data can suggest many different stories. 鈥淵ou really need to look more deeply at how students across the school are performing in different grades and in different subjects,鈥� Olivieri says. 鈥淚f a school has a steep decline year-over-year, that鈥檚 cause for alarm. Persistent principal turnover can cause challenges, too.鈥�
Old success, new leadership
Case in point:聽Moscone Elementary School聽(芭乐视频 Rating 6) in San Francisco鈥檚 Mission District. At first blush, it feels like a really strict urban Catholic school. Though it鈥檚 public, kids wear uniforms. At the early morning drop off, students and parents appear subdued. The school鈥檚 first principal, Patricia Martel, led with a singular focus: literacy 鈥� quickly and in English. She crafted simple, straightforward mission statements that the kids repeated daily and were translated into Spanish and Chinese for parents to learn as well. Kids don鈥檛 miss class, are respectful, and aim high. Unapologetically, Martel would tell parent on school tours, 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 like a highly disciplined school, don鈥檛 choose this,鈥� she recalls. Test scores reflected her vision鈥檚 success, rising to a 芭乐视频 Rating 9. During those years the school attracted a devoted following of local families and Martel became a model for principal training programs. But when Martel left, the school floundered a bit.
Now, seven years, two principals, one recession, and a much more impoverished community later, the school鈥檚 scores have fallen. For a high-poverty (84%) school, this shouldn鈥檛 be equated with failure, especially since the gap between some students and their economically-disadvantaged peers is narrow (7 vs. 5). And, while their 芭乐视频 Rating fell in 2011 (7 to 6) and 2012 (6 to 5), they reversed the trend last year (5 to 6). 鈥淭his is [Principal] Valerie [Hoshino]鈥檚 fourth year,鈥� Martel says, adding, 鈥淐hange takes four to seven years to really become institutionalized. It took me a while, too.鈥�
We鈥檙e just not that into tests?
When Erin Cervelli saw聽San Francisco Community Alternative School鈥檚聽芭乐视频 Rating 4, she was surprised but she didn鈥檛 regret her decision. Test scores 鈥渁re not an issue for me,鈥� she says. The parent reviews (4-star average out of 45 reviews) of this progressive mecca with a welcoming yard, lush garden, project-based learning, teacher 鈥渓ooping鈥� (teachers stay with a class for two years so children are well-known), social-emotional curriculum, and a late start (9:15 am vs. 7:50 am at Moscone) tend to match her enthusiasm. A handful of reviews rail against academic shortcomings, such as a notable complaint in 2005 about kids needing to repeat Algebra I in high school. At orientation this summer, says Cervelli, test scores were addressed and dismissed quickly but efficiently: the project-based learning school does not teach to the test, administrators said, because it would require about two and a half months of valuable instruction time.
鈥淲hen a school dismisses test scores, it’s time to ask more questions,鈥� Olivieri says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when you need to ask pointed questions about what the school鈥檚 learning goals are 鈥� and how they measure them. Ask, 鈥楬ow do you know if your students are prepared for success?鈥� and 鈥楬ow do you measure progress and ensure that all kids are learning?鈥欌�� she suggests. You can also ask if the school teaches to the state standards 鈥� and if and when your school will be teaching to the new Common Core State Standards. Don鈥檛 just let it go, Olivieri says, firing off more questions to ask: 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 use your state鈥檚 standardized test as a true measure, then what do you use? Do you track your students in high school and college to see how your students do? How do you hold yourselves (teacher, principal, and school) accountable for student success?鈥�
Taking Olivieri鈥檚 advice, I asked Nora Houseman, San Francisco Community Alternative School鈥檚 principal, these questions. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not anti-assessment 鈥� not at all,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e believe in assessments that are linked to what the kids are learning 鈥� but we鈥檙e very opposed to tests that aren鈥檛.鈥� Their project-based approach emphasizes depth over breadth, critical thinking, and presentation skills. 鈥淚 think, and I think the district thinks, we鈥檙e very much aligned to the new Common Core Standards,鈥� she says 鈥� and she鈥檚 optimistic that these new assessments will better match what they鈥檙e teaching 鈥� and that as a result the school鈥檚 test scores will go up.
Another yellow flag at San Francisco Community School is an apparent equity gap. The year before last, about a third of kids got into Lowell, one of the country鈥檚 leading high schools. But, only about one third of students aren鈥檛 from lower socioeconomic backgrounds 鈥� and the test score divide between the haves and have nots is striking: 10 vs. 3. So, does this school serve only the privileged kids? That鈥檚 not where Houseman sees the line. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a big divide with our K-8 students versus our transfer students,鈥� she says, adding that the district often recommends it to students when things don鈥檛 work out at other, more traditional, schools. 鈥淲e have less time with our transfer students,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ur K-8 kids do extremely well and often get into the school of their choice.鈥�
It鈥檚 all about your child 鈥� and getting answers
So what鈥檚 a parent to do? Look at the data to see how the school is serving children like yours. Will your son really thrive at a school where the girls are performing significantly better than the boys? Is there an equity gap? Do the test scores jump around erratically? These data points will rarely provide answers, but they can offer a starting point for figuring out the hard questions all parents need to ask.
Editor鈥檚 note: For this story, we tried to pick schools with similar levels of free and reduced lunch students 鈥� a shorthand for socioeconomic levels. But such markers 鈥� like test scores 鈥� are limited measures. There鈥檚 a clear connection in U.S. public schools between race, wealth, and student outcomes. Beyond that fact, there are other factors to consider, such as how schools serve boys versus girls, as well as kids from different backgrounds, students at different grade levels, and students with different learning needs, all of which may be crucial to consider when finding the right fit for your child.聽
