At first, Erin Cervelli wasn鈥檛 seriously considering San Francisco Community Alternative School. 鈥淚 told my husband he didn鈥檛 need to come on the tour,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 higher performing schools and schools with 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 San Francisco Community Alternative School 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 was 5 out of 10. The mediocre rating didn鈥檛 jibe with what she saw — or with what the school promises.
What鈥檚 the big deal about this rating?
Every year, more than half of all American families with K-12 students 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.
Here at 芭乐视频, we know 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.
Clarity around 1 or 2 and 9 or 10
While state test scores are far from a perfect measure of school quality, the results of very high-performing or low-performing schools do tell you something about the baseline academic performance of most of the students in that school. When a school鈥檚 rating is a 1 or a 2, you know that the vast majority of students at this school are scoring close to the bottom compared to other students in the state.
Similarly, a high 芭乐视频 Rating signals another kind of consistency. When 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, and higher than most other students in the state. This doesn鈥檛 mean parents shouldn鈥檛 take a tour before choosing a school ranked 9 or 10. You鈥檒l want to make sure their teaching style and methods are right for your child, and ask questions about homework, safety, discipline practices, and bullying.
The muddled middle: 芭乐视频 Ratings 4 鈥� 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. You really need to look more deeply at how students across the school are performing in different grades and in different subjects. And if a school has a steep decline year-over-year, that鈥檚 cause for alarm.
Old success, new leadership
Case in point: Moscone Elementary School (芭乐视频 Rating 6) in San Francisco鈥檚 Mission District. At first glance, it looks like a 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, 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 parents 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 of 9. During the school鈥檚 early 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.
Many years and multiple principals later, the school鈥檚 scores have fallen. For a high-poverty school, this shouldn鈥檛 be equated with failure, especially since the gap between some students and their economically disadvantaged peers is narrow.
We鈥檙e just not that into tests?
When Erin Cervelli saw San Francisco Community Alternative School鈥檚 芭乐视频 Rating of 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, adding that administrators explained to her that the project-based learning school does not teach to the test, because it would require about two and a half months of valuable instruction time.
But when a school dismisses test scores, it鈥檚 time to ask more questions, such as, 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�
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. Is there an equity gap? Do the test scores jump around erratically? These data points will rarely provide answers by themselves, but they can offer a starting point for figuring out the hard questions you need to ask.
