Abstract: This new study suggests that the methods most states are using to assess schools' academic progress may produce an incomplete and misleading picture of schools' performance. Examining data from 723 schools in 22 states, researchers found that schools with similar status levels differ substantially in the amount of academic growth they cause in students, and more than 20 percent of the schools that have been labeled as high status fall into the bottom quarter of schools in terms of the amount of growth they cause in their students. The authors recommend that combining a growth measure with a measure of average test scores might give a much clearer picture of the kinds of jobs that schools are doing in enhancing students' academic progress. This study may be welcomed news to charter school leaders who have often argued that results from one point in time fail to adequately demonstrate how much their students are learning.
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