scholarly journals Neglecting democracy in education policy: A-F school report card accountability systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Murray ◽  
Kenneth R. Howe
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Report Card ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Democratic Deliberation ◽  
Accountability Systems ◽  
Letter Grades ◽  
Democracy In Education

Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grades to schools. Other states are now engaged in deliberation about whether they, too, should adopt such systems. This paper examines A-F accountability systems with respect to three kinds of validity. First, it examines whether or not these accountability systems are valid as a measure, that is, do these systems validly measure school quality? Second, it examines whether or not they are valid as a policy instrument. or, how far do A-F accountability systems fulfill the stated aims of their proponents—empowering parents, providing “simple” and “common sense” measures of educational quality, and so on? Finally, it examines whether or not A-F systems are valid as a democratic framework:, how well do these systems align with the broader goals of educating students for democratic citizenship and of incorporating parents and community members in democratic deliberation about policies for their public schools? The paper concludes that A-F accountability systems are invalid along each of these lines, and provides recommendations for democratically developing and implementing criteria for school assessment.

Status, Growth, and Perceptions of School Quality

2021 ◽  
pp. 016237372110305
Author(s):  
David M. Houston ◽  
Michael Henderson ◽  
Paul E. Peterson ◽  
Martin R. West
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Accountability Systems ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Achievement Growth ◽  
Status Information ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Perceptions Of School

States and districts are increasingly incorporating measures of achievement growth into their school accountability systems, but there is little research on how these changes affect the public’s perceptions of school quality. We conduct a nationally representative online survey experiment to identify the effects of providing participants with information about their local public schools’ average achievement status and/or average achievement growth. Prior to receiving any information, participants already possess a modest understanding of how their local schools perform in terms of status, but they are largely unaware of how these schools perform in terms of growth. Participants who live in higher status districts tend to grade their local schools more favorably. The provision of status information does not fundamentally change this relationship. The provision of growth information, however, alters Americans’ views about local educational performance. Once informed, participants’ evaluations of their local schools better reflect the variation in district growth.

scholarly journals An empirical test of Oklahoma’s A-F grades

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Curt Matthew Adams ◽  
Patrick B. Forysth ◽  
Jordan K. Ware ◽  
Mwarumba Mwavita ◽  
Laura L. Barnes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Quality Indicator ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
School Characteristics ◽  
Letter Grades ◽  
Student Test

Oklahoma is one of 16 states electing to use an A-F letter grade as an indicator of school quality. On the surface, letter grades are an attractive policy instrument for school improvement; they are seemingly clear, simple, and easy to interpret. Evidence, however, on the use of letter grades as an instrument to rank and improve schools is scant at best. We address the gap in the literature by using student test scores to evaluate the use of Oklahoma’s A-F grades as a school quality indicator. Achievement differences between letter grades were small and in most cases not statistically significant when student and school characteristics were held constant. School grades did not reveal large achievement gaps in the highest ranked schools. Additionally, free/reduced lunch and minority students in D and F schools outperformed peers in A and B schools. 

Community-based? Asian American Students, Parents, and Teachers in the Shifting Chinatowns of New York and Los Angeles

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benji Chang ◽  
Juhyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
Education Experience ◽  
American Students ◽  
Community Organizers ◽  
Holistic Vision

This article examines the experiences of children, parents, and teachers in the New York and Los Angeles Chinatown public schools, as observed by two classroom educators, one based in each city. The authors document trends among the transnational East and Southeast Asian families that comprise the majority in the local Chinatown schools and discuss some of the key intersections of communities and identities within those schools, as well as the pedagogies that try to build upon these intersections in the name of student empowerment and a more holistic vision of student achievement. Ultimately, this article seeks to bring forth the unique perspectives of Chinatown community members and explore how students, families, teachers, school staff and administrators, and community organizers can collaborate to actualize a more transformative public education experience.

scholarly journals Results from England’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (s1) ◽  
pp. S45-S50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martyn Standage ◽  
Hannah J. Wilkie ◽  
Russell Jago ◽  
Charlie Foster ◽  
Mary A. Goad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Report Card ◽  
Active Transportation ◽  
Sedentary Behaviors ◽  
Organized Sport ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Systematic Assessment ◽  
Letter Grades ◽  
Nationally Representative

Background:The Active Healthy Kids 2014 England Report Card aims to provide a systematic assessment of how England is performing in relation to engaging and facilitating physical activity (PA) in children and young people.Methods:The systematic methods and processes that underpin the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card were used and adapted. Data and evidence were consolidated, reviewed by a panel of content experts, and used to inform the assignment of letter grades (A, B, C, D, F) to 9 core indicators related to PA.Results:Children’s Overall Physical Activity received a grade of C/D. Active Transportation and Organized Sport Participation received grades of C and C-, respectively. The indicators of School and Community and the Built Environment were graded favorable with grades of A- and B, respectively. Active Play, Sedentary Behaviors, Family and Peers, and Government Strategies and Investments were graded as INC (incomplete) due to a lack of nationally representative data and/or as a result of data not mapping onto the benchmarks used to assign the grades.Conclusions:Substantial provision for PA opportunities in England exists. Yet more effort is required to maximize use of these resources to increase PA participation.

The Impact of Principal Attrition and Replacement on Indicators of School Quality

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Marcus A. Winters ◽  
Brian Kisida ◽  
Ikhee Cho
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
New Principal ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Leadership Transitions ◽  
Principal Attrition ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Transitions to a new principal are common, especially within urban public schools, and potentially highly disruptive to a school's culture and operations. We use longitudinal data from New York City to investigate if the effect of principal transitions differs by whether the incoming principal was hired externally or promoted from within the school. We take advantage of variation in the timing of principal transitions within an event-study approach to estimate the causal effect of principal changes. Changing principals has an immediate negative effect on student test scores that is sustained over several years regardless of whether hired internally or externally. However, externally hired principals lead to an increase in teacher turnover and a decline in perceptions of the school's learning environment, whereas transitions to an internally promoted principal have no such effects. This pattern of results raises important questions about leadership transitions and the nature of principal effects on school quality.

scholarly journals Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth: Results and Analysis From 49 Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (s2) ◽  
pp. S251-S273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salomé Aubert ◽  
Joel D. Barnes ◽  
Chalchisa Abdeta ◽  
Patrick Abi Nader ◽  
Ade F. Adeniyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Work Groups ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Report Card ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Letter Grades ◽  
Public Investments ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Report Card Grades ◽  
Very High

Background: Accumulating sufficient moderate to vigorous physical activity is recognized as a key determinant of physical, physiological, developmental, mental, cognitive, and social health among children and youth (aged 5–17 y). The Global Matrix 3.0 of Report Card grades on physical activity was developed to achieve a better understanding of the global variation in child and youth physical activity and associated supports. Methods: Work groups from 49 countries followed harmonized procedures to develop their Report Cards by grading 10 common indicators using the best available data. The participating countries were divided into 3 categories using the United Nations’ human development index (HDI) classification (low or medium, high, and very high HDI). Results: A total of 490 grades, including 369 letter grades and 121 incomplete grades, were assigned by the 49 work groups. Overall, an average grade of “C-,” “D+,” and “C-” was obtained for the low and medium HDI countries, high HDI countries, and very high HDI countries, respectively. Conclusions: The present study provides rich new evidence showing that the situation regarding the physical activity of children and youth is a concern worldwide. Strategic public investments to implement effective interventions to increase physical activity opportunities are needed.

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