Comparing Math CAPE scores for HS

[Anonymous]

Lots of recent posts with people posting overall CAPE meeting/exceeding percentages to compare schools, particularly at the high school level. Lots of replies explaining why that's often not an apples-to-apples comparison (i.e., students who take HS level math in MS typically complete all math CAPE testing prior to 10th grade). Here's the actual data.

Looking at math meeting/exceeding percent and the ratio of math CAPE to ELA CAPE test takers:

Bard overall: 2%, 80%

BASIS overall: 72%, 101%

Banneker overall: 53%, 96%

DCI overall: 12%, 93%

DE overall: 15%, 86%

J-R overall: 30%, 71%

McKinley overall: 22%, 87%

SWW overall: 68%, 60%

Latin overall: 26%, 61%

For all other schools the ratio of math CAPE to ELA CAPE test takers is 85% or higher.

J-R, SWW, and Latin are clear outliers here. Where BASIS is testing all of its students in math, these three schools are only testing a (arguably weaker) subset of students in math. Same data by grade:

BASIS 9th: 51%, 100%
BASIS 10th: 89%, 100%

J-R 9th: 40%, 95%
J-R 10th: 11%, 44%

SWW 9th: 77%, 91%
SWW 10th: 41%, 29%

Latin 9th: 30%, 99%
Latin 10th: <=10%, 18%

Tl;dr - Overall CAPE scores are not always sufficient for comparing HS math performance. Take a closer look.

[Anonymous]

Another illustration of how math CAPE at HS (and MS) level is not apples-to-apples. Below is percent of 9th grade math test takers taking the Algebra I test:

Bard: 72%

BASIS: 0% (everyone took Geometry)

Banneker: 87%

DCI: 0% (everyone took Geometry)

DE: 51% (possibly slightly lower, best I could do working around data suppression)

J-R: 50%

McKinley: 59%

SWW: 18%

Latin: 13%

[Anonymous]

What's DE?

[Anonymous]

What is CAPE?

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I would think that SAT scores would be a better measure at the high school level. Anyone know where to find those?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is CAPE?

DC's standardized test. Used to be called PARCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's DE?

Probably Duke Ellington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, I would think that SAT scores would be a better measure at the high school level. Anyone know where to find those?

I actually think we, collectively the DCUM community, knows much more about high school Math CAPE/PARCC scores now and how to understand them than we did a year ago! It feels like a success. The forum actually led to some understanding!

[Anonymous]

Not really.

The typical BASIS student takes algebra and geometry in 7th and 8th, precalculus in 9th, and calculus in 10th (some take a more advanced math curriculum). Other schools such as Walls don't do geometry until 9th. Seems like these students get the benefit of being test of material that they are currently studying while BASIS students are tested on material that they started learning two or three years before and probably barely remember.

OP seems to assume that in 10th grade J-R, Walls, and Latin are "arguably" testing a "weaker subset." But what is the evidence for that? Seems just as likely that they are not testing some the weakest math students, especially those with tons of absences. One in four kids in DCPS are chronically absent from school.

As PP says, maybe it is best to look at average SAT scores (noting, of course, that Walls' numbers include some former BASIS middle school students).

The schools rank like this:

BASIS 660
Walls 652
Latin 580
Banneker 555
J-R 508

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really.

The typical BASIS student takes algebra and geometry in 7th and 8th, precalculus in 9th, and calculus in 10th (some take a more advanced math curriculum). Other schools such as Walls don't do geometry until 9th. Seems like these students get the benefit of being test of material that they are currently studying while BASIS students are tested on material that they started learning two or three years before and probably barely remember.

OP seems to assume that in 10th grade J-R, Walls, and Latin are "arguably" testing a "weaker subset." But what is the evidence for that? Seems just as likely that they are not testing some the weakest math students, especially those with tons of absences. One in four kids in DCPS are chronically absent from school.

As PP says, maybe it is best to look at average SAT scores (noting, of course, that Walls' numbers include some former BASIS middle school students).

The schools rank like this:

BASIS 660
Walls 652
Latin 580
Banneker 555
J-R 508

*average math SAT scores

[Anonymous]

Where’s the Basis average SAT score from?

[Anonymous]

To round out this list a bit more:

McKinley Tech 471
Duke Ellington 444

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really.

The typical BASIS student takes algebra and geometry in 7th and 8th, precalculus in 9th, and calculus in 10th (some take a more advanced math curriculum). Other schools such as Walls don't do geometry until 9th. Seems like these students get the benefit of being test of material that they are currently studying while BASIS students are tested on material that they started learning two or three years before and probably barely remember.

OP seems to assume that in 10th grade J-R, Walls, and Latin are "arguably" testing a "weaker subset." But what is the evidence for that? Seems just as likely that they are not testing some the weakest math students, especially those with tons of absences. One in four kids in DCPS are chronically absent from school.

As PP says, maybe it is best to look at average SAT scores (noting, of course, that Walls' numbers include some former BASIS middle school students).

The schools rank like this:

BASIS 660
Walls 652
Latin 580
Banneker 555
J-R 508

The weaker students are taking the CAPE in 10th grade because those are the students taking Geometry in the 10th grade. So yes those are generally the weakest math students. This isn’t a choice for DCPS schools. It is how the district dictates that schools do it- at Walls very few 10th graders test because very few are in Geometry. The rest are in Algebra II, Precalc and Calculus.

[Anonymous]

Whyyyyyyy do you all hate on PARCC/CAPE tests and then use their scores to judge the schools your child doesn’t attend? Love it or leave it. You can’t play both sides.

It’s one data point. Give it (and us and your school admin) a rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whyyyyyyy do you all hate on PARCC/CAPE tests and then use their scores to judge the schools your child doesn’t attend? Love it or leave it. You can’t play both sides.

It’s one data point. Give it (and us and your school admin) a rest.

Because it's one of the only ways to compare schools apples to apples.