Why are private schools not transparent with their test scores?

[Anonymous]

Why is it that private schools are not transparent with their test scores? It frustrating to hear the same old fake excuses -- "we don't keep those types of records" or "we don't compile our test results" or "we don't release our scores because you have to look at our entire school and not just test scores". A bunch of BS. Parents, especially the given the cost of tuition, should demand more transparency and truth about how well or not a school performs academically. A school's refusal to release test results makes me wonder what they are hiding. Too many people just assume private schools provide a great education based on reputation alone. Go sit in the classrooms, observe, and you may be surprised how mediocre even the so call top schools really are. Sorry for this negative comment, but unfortunately, this is what we have found after much searching. What have others found?

[Anonymous]

I've found the opposite. Our kids are at a school (Beauvoir) that does not release score information outside of the school community, and only an appropriately limited basis within the school. The academics are stronger than I had anticipated, and I am increasingly impressed with the faculty. I'm fine with it.

[Anonymous]

Our schools do not do testing.

My son read the same book in 4th grade that our neighbor in honors English was reading in 8th grade.

Their Math is 1 grade above what my friends in other privates are doing.

I actually wish DC Metro was a little less intense about scores and extreme achieving.

I am just glad my kids look forward to going to school each day - that is my measurement of success.

[Anonymous]

Correction - Our school does not do testing.

[Anonymous]

I wish that there were some way to objectively measure the schools. Very frustrating when all you really have to go on is anecdotal evidence and exmissions which can vary wildly from year to year and class to class. Test scores would help, and we know the schools have them. I agree that it isn't the ONLY way to measure a school, but just like colleges and SAT admission scores, it is ONE measure, and it would be a place to start. The lack of transparency does make me wonder what the big deal is and why they won't just publicize the results.

[Anonymous]

What exactly are you looking for?

Most people I know were looking for a school that was a good fit. Not sure you can see that from test scores.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the OP. However some schools publish their SAT and AP scores. Some Catholics schools publish their SAT scores in lower grades as well. I wish parents would publish the scores.

I do not like teaching to the test or std testing because you only get avg. And not the distribution of grades. I want to know that my school performs as well as others or that my kids are out performing better than public schools. Which they should do since they select their students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it that private schools are not transparent with their test scores? It frustrating to hear the same old fake excuses -- "we don't keep those types of records" or "we don't compile our test results" or "we don't release our scores because you have to look at our entire school and not just test scores". A bunch of BS. Parents, especially the given the cost of tuition, should demand more transparency and truth about how well or not a school performs academically. A school's refusal to release test results makes me wonder what they are hiding. Too many people just assume private schools provide a great education based on reputation alone. Go sit in the classrooms, observe, and you may be surprised how mediocre even the so call top schools really are. Sorry for this negative comment, but unfortunately, this is what we have found after much searching. What have others found?

If you think this, why don't you just send your kids to public school and not worry about it? Independent schools are communities that everyone ( families, teachers, administrators) CHOOSE. Make another choice if you think test results are so important. Do you even know how to interpret various test scores anyway? My guess is no.

[Anonymous]

Really OP? In late July, you've been "sit[ing] in the classrooms, observ[ing]" and have been surprised how mediocre the top schools are after "much searching" (during the summer?)

Or you did this last October -- the ONLY time the top DC schools would've allowed you to do so -- but you're just now getting around to thinking up a troll post in July?

[Anonymous]

funny pp

[Anonymous]

Why would a private school want to publicize its students' test scores? Rubberneckers like us will just pick the scores apart, take them out of context, and compare schools for our own amusement. What school wants to encourage that? The argument for limiting the release of scores seems much more compelling, since it will protect the privacy of families attending the schools, and will discourage gawkers.

If you're a popular private school with lots of applicants, I can think of few reasons you'd want to publicize such info, no matter how good your scores are. And at the other end of the spectrum, if you're a private school with terrible scores, you of course will not want to publicize that. Maybe a strong private school that's unfairly perceived as middling, and is trying to "compete up" against more popular rivals, might want to publicize test scores to support an argument that it's more effective than most people think. But that's about the only situation I can think of that makes sense.

[Anonymous]

To try and answer OP, the few schools with many applicants select some students for reasons other than high academic potential. They might be children of graduates, children of donors or potential donors, or, quite often, siblings of current students. So the test scores they could publicly report would show the effect of these different admitted groups. And reporting the test scores would allow a direct comparison of schools, and the schools would over time be forced to compete only on test results and that in turn would limit their ability to use factors other than academic potential in selecting their classes. Better for the schools it stay a mystery!

[Anonymous]

A private school is not the government and has no obligation to you or anyone else. The word "transparency" is really a misnomer here.

I would not want my children to go to school with the children of parents who chose the school because of this one, simplistic measure, so I am very glad my children's school does not release test scores.

[Anonymous]

What's the big deal? If you pick up a guide to colleges it lists the school size, location, single sex or co-ed, tuition, and, among other info, SAT score range. It's just part of the general info. Why all bent out of shape that the OP would like the same listed for the independent schools in the area? Not a troll for asking. Of course you still have to tour the schools to see if they're a good fit. It just gives you a place to start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To try and answer OP, the few schools with many applicants select some students for reasons other than high academic potential. They might be children of graduates, children of donors or potential donors, or, quite often, siblings of current students. So the test scores they could publicly report would show the effect of these different admitted groups. And reporting the test scores would allow a direct comparison of schools, and the schools would over time be forced to compete only on test results and that in turn would limit their ability to use factors other than academic potential in selecting their classes. Better for the schools it stay a mystery!

This sounds like it.

The worst case scenario is the school with a great reputation (think Big 3-5) and great college acceptances but mediocre SAT or AP scores. This raises obvious questions about whether the school is cruising on its reputation alone. Yes, obviously, the school may have wonderful teachers who convey a broad and deep education to their students. But you would still have to wonder, if the average kid at that school can't do well on the math, critical reading or essay parts of the SAT.

This does raise a question about whether schools should be competing on class composition vs. measurable results (including but not limited to test scores). Or maybe, "class composition" is about a balance between the rich, the connected, and two dozen high-test-scorers who will hold up the Ivy admissions reputation?

17:10 gets outraged over "this is not the government" and "I wouldn't want to send my kids to a school where parents only look at scores," but both of these are straw men. Nobody here - or in the history of DCUM as far as I know - has ever claimed that scores are the only thing that matters. Of course we all look at fit, quality of teachers, classroom size, et cetera.