Reply to Failing Schools Almost Impossible to "Turnaround"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote] If we evaluate schools as successful based on test scores, then all you need is to flood the school with higher-performing kids (likely with a higher SES) thereby diluting the scores of the low-performers. Is the school performing better? Of course not. [/quote]

There's actually a lot of evidence that shows having poor and poorly performing kids in wealthier school districts leads to better educational outcomes. You say "Of course not", but it actually makes sense: If 5% of the students in a school need a lot of attention, they'll likely get it. If 85% of the students in a school need a lot of attention, you've got DCPS.

That's not even addressing the fact that concentrated poverty tends to overwhelm social services outside of the school.

Take a kid out of Barry Farm, and put his family up in a townhouse in Loudon County in a neighborhood where everyone is middle-class, and the school has 2% FARMS students, and that kid is going to do better. Obviously.[/quote]

I'm not trying to be combative, just trying to understand.  It's not that the school (meaning the administration, teachers and support staff) is performing better, it's that the student body is comprised of a higher percentage of high-performing kids than it had been previously.  Right?  As a PP said, these tests don't really evaluate the quality of the education being offered, they are evaluating the quantity of information absorbed by the students.   Poor quality education likely will lead to poor scores.  Excellent instruction doesn't necessarily equate to excellent scores.  I think.[/quote]

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