Are There Low Performing Schools With High Performing Students?
I write often (probably too often) about the difference between measures of school performance and student performance, usually in the context of school rating systems. The basic idea is that schools cannot control the students they serve, and so absolute performance measures, such as proficiency rates, are telling you more about the students a school or district serves than how effective it is in improving outcomes (which is better-captured by growth-oriented indicators).
Recently, I was asked a simple question: Can a school with very high absolute performance levels ever actually be considered a “bad school?"
This is a good question.