One of the surest measures of a school’s achievement is to measure it against ’similar schools’. This means, among other things, schools with similar:
- demographics
- socioeconomic levels
- community/parent education level
- percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch
When you can make very direct comparisons like this, and base the results on a benchmark that is established in a way that brings an abstract into a measurable and understandable framework, you get a snapshot of how your school is doing overall.
The National Center for Educational Achievement is an educational think tank that has created measurable benchmarks to determine college readiness based on performance levels of similar schools.
Basically this means they:
- looked at the TAKS and SAT scores of high school graduates in Texas [and Arkansas].
- looked at the percentage of these same students who needed remediation upon entering college.
- determined the necessary TAKS and SAT scores [their benchmarks] to eliminate the need for this remediation.
- ‘backwards mapped’ to determine corresponding grade level TAKS scores which would ensure continued growth toward the end goal of college readiness.
The ultimate determination is that schools and/or districts that “teach to the test” have lower scores overall, and their students are less prepared for college. This is very telling, particularly in a state which focuses so heavily to the TAKS and in our schools, which do, to a great extent, teach to the test.
NCEA found that teaching to the test is mutually exclusive from teaching our kids to think, be problem solvers, and ready for the rigor and higher level expectations of college. Finally, they determined that the foundation of learning must begin in kindergarten and be developed each year. To teach concepts in isolation is like building a house before you’ve built the foundation. Every subject must be taught to mastery at every grade level, per state minimum standards. But, and this is key, those schools who are high performing schools, have HIGHER standards than the state minimums. They’ve built a strong foundation, put up a house of bricks, and are weathering the storm with ease.
High Performing Schools in Texas
The following links show how Argyle ISD has done based on NCEA’s benchmarks.
Just 4 Kids: Hilltop
Just 4 Kids: Intermediate [not yet available]
Just 4 Kids: Middle
Just 4 Kids: High
