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Comparing apples to oranges
January 24, 2012 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) at 06:38 AM
Nearing the end of my Florida tour, I bring you this report from Ocala. The governor has just released a report ranking the state’s 67 school districts on the basis of their performance on the state tests. In Ocala, which ranked 44th, the usual suspects are criticizing the rankings - saying it’s not fair to compare districts with different socioeconomic makeups and adding that the unfair comparison is disheartening to those with low rankings.
This may come as a surprise to some, but this time I agree with the usual suspects. Of course, this doesn’t mean that I would totally junk the rankings - just make them fair. The basis of comparison should be the value added by school districts - for example, Tennessee’s Value-Added Assessment model.