GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

I’d like to respond to some of the reactions to Friday’s post:

1. Cut scores: Contrary to Leonie Haimson’s allegation, we did not determine the percentage of A grades after learning the results of the 2009 state tests. The cut scores for the elementary and middle school progress reports were set in September 2008 and communicated to principals in the Sept. 23, 2008, mailing of Principals’ Weekly (pasted at the end of this post) — long before the state tests were even administered. The two educator guides Ms. Haimson cites correspond to different years — one is for the 2007-08 progress report and the other is an updated version for the 2008-09 progress report.

We raised the cut scores significantly from 2007-08 to 2008-09 to reflect the progress schools had made. However, the gains our schools achieved in 2008-09 surpassed anything we had seen during the last few years. Had we been able to forecast this growth, we would have set the cut scores even higher. (more…)

In a post on this page earlier this week, “Comparing Small Apples to Large Apples,” Teachers College Professor Aaron Pallas raised several important issues with respect to New York City’s high school progress reports. A frank dialogue about the strengths and weaknesses of our accountability system is important as it helps us make improvements while deepening the public’s understanding of how the system works. There are several areas in Dr. Pallas’s argument that I’d like to address to clarify our approach and avoid potential misconceptions.

The high school progress report accounts for multiple data measures: four and six-year graduation rates; attendance; five Regents exams; and credit accumulation at the end of ninth, tenth and eleventh grade.

Pallas questions the usefulness of credit measures. Credit data is derived from the grades teachers assign to students. As a former high school principal, I know firsthand that the progress students make in earning credits is a key predictor of graduation. Academic success in ninth grade in particular better predicts graduation than either demographics or prior academic achievement. (more…)