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Is This School One of the Best in Michigan or One of the Worst?
Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 11/24/2014 | Jarrett Skorup

Posted on 11/26/2014 11:30:54 AM PST by MichCapCon

If you ask the Michigan Department of Education, Covert High School is not a good school. On the state report card from a few years ago, the school ranked in the bottom 26th percentile.

But on a new report card, the school 40 miles west of Kalamazoo is the No. 1 ranked conventional public high school in Michigan.

The reason why requires understanding the state’s report card and those done by other groups.

In Michigan, schools are ranked based on the state’s Top-to-Bottom list, which grade administrators and schools based 50 percent on overall test scores, 25 percent on the achievement gap (the spread between high and low performing students) and only 25 percent on academic improvement. Besides emphasizing overall scores more than student growth, these rankings are also viewed by many as flawed because they do not account for student socioeconomic status – a key indicator of student achievement according to experts.

Dr. Bobbi Morehead, superintendent, Covert Schools To correct for these problems, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy has developed a “Context and Performance” (CAP) report card that takes high school MME and ACT scores and adjusts for student poverty level. When that happens, Covert moves from near the bottom to the very top.

According to the latest CAP report, released today, the study “uses regression analysis to predict how well each school would perform given the socioeconomic makeup of their students. Schools are then ranked by how well they actually did relative to their predicted performance.” The schools are then given a letter grade.

Audrey Spalding is the director of education policy at the Center and wrote the report. She said not adjusting for the socioeconomic status of students means the state is unfairly judging teachers and schools.

"It's important to recognize that schools that open in needy areas take on additional challenges that other schools in more affluent areas don't face,” Spalding said. “By taking into account student background, we can get a better sense of whether a school is posting better or worse outcomes than expected, given its student population."

Covert Superintendent Bobbi Morehead said much of the success at Covert can be attributed to using Northwest Evaluation Associaton (NWEA) testing several times throughout the year so the school can have a better knowledge of what individual students are learning and need to work on.

“We pay constant attention to student data,” Morehead said. “Based on that ongoing data, we can make adjustments on the spot to help our students – not just for students who are struggling, but for everyone in order to push them to a higher level.”

The elementary school, middle school and high school all score well on the Mackinac Center report card. Covert Elementary – which is ranked in the 61st percentile by the state – received an A. Covert Middle – which the state puts in the 24th percentile – got a B. On the CAP report card from two years ago, the high school also received an A.

The district as a whole serves students in which 96 percent are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and 91 percent are racial minorities – 42 percent black, 41 percent Hispanic and 8 percent other non-white.

Morehead believes all students can succeed regardless of socioeconomic status.

“We definitely don’t use demographics as an excuse,” she said. “It plays a role in student achievement, but when you don’t use it as an excuse but believe your students are bright and capable and can achieve, then you can see powerful results.”

Morehead believes the state tests should be changed.

“I think we should focus more on measuring progress,” she said. “Take a look at where students are and hold people accountable for the progress they make.”

She said she understands the purpose of testing, but also believes measuring the “soft skills” is important. Problem-solving, persistence and resilience – while harder to measure – are also important.

The Mackinac Center CAP study can be read here. A database based on the report card is also being updated. Those results can be seen here.


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: education; michigan; ratings; school

1 posted on 11/26/2014 11:30:54 AM PST by MichCapCon
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To: MichCapCon
To correct for these problems, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy has developed a “Context and Performance” (CAP) report card that takes high school MME and ACT scores and adjusts for student poverty level. When that happens, Covert moves from near the bottom to the very top.

I suspect that rather than being "all sciency and stuff" (a.k.a. true), the "adjustments" were made with the goal of getting this specific result.

2 posted on 11/26/2014 11:46:44 AM PST by Zeppo ("Happy Pony is on - and I'm NOT missing Happy Pony")
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To: MichCapCon
Schools are then ranked by how well they actually did relative to their predicted performance.

Can't wait to apply this during annual performance reviews at work.

Manager: "You were predicted to really, REALLY suck at work this year."

Employee: "Yeah, but I merely sucked."

Manager: "You're right -- you get an A+ and a 15% raise."

3 posted on 11/26/2014 11:47:42 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: MichCapCon

Sounds like these liberal, so-called, educators like to sit around and pity to poor. It must make them feel superior.


4 posted on 11/26/2014 11:48:58 AM PST by ConservativeInPA (We need to fundamentally transform RATs lives for their lies.)
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To: Zeppo
I suspect that rather than being "all sciency and stuff" (a.k.a. true), the "adjustments" were made with the goal of getting this specific result.

You may want to educate yourself on the fundamentals of inferential statistics and also the orientation of the Mackinac Center. Then you won't embarrass yourself this way the next time.

5 posted on 11/26/2014 12:03:27 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

If a manager gives one employee a diamond to polish and one employee a turd, how will he know who did a better job if all he considers is the end result?


6 posted on 11/26/2014 12:15:50 PM PST by RightOnTheBorder
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To: MichCapCon
Well would you look at THAT! Those little scamps are actually geniuses!

And good thing we found this out, we need them to get into college & grad school to become the next generation of doctors, engineers, pilots, teachers, scientists...

7 posted on 11/26/2014 12:16:41 PM PST by NativeSon ( Grease the floor with Crisco when I dance the Disco)
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FReepers! Let's go!
Every donation counts!




We're going to need a big push to
wrap this up. Let's git 'er done.

8 posted on 11/26/2014 12:23:54 PM PST by RedMDer (I don't listen to Liars but when I do I know it's Barack Obama.)
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To: MichCapCon

Sounds eminently reasonable to me.

Take business results. A CEO who “catches a wave” may generate a huge profit for his company with little effort or input. He then gets an enormous bonus for doing such a great job, when the truth is almost anybody could have done the same.

Another CEO, through great skill and determination, brings his company through a crisis which without his efforts would have destroyed it. He gets fired for losing the company money.

Schools that do even reasonably well with very poor material deserve enormous credit.

This doesn’t mean the students from these schools shouldn’t be judged on a flat scale relative to those from other schools when judging their performance, only that the school should reasonably be judged on an adjusted scale.


9 posted on 11/26/2014 12:26:16 PM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: MichCapCon

To look at this another way.

Let’s give two teachers each 15 students.

Teacher A gets 15 students each with an IQ of 115, teacher B’s students each have an IQ of 85.

All students would be, I believed, considered to fall into the “average intelligence” range.

At the end of the year the A class greatly outperforms the B class, so we reward teacher A and fire teacher B.

Whereas the fact of the matter is that teacher A would have been almost unable to keep the students from learning no matter how hard she tried, and if teacher B taught them much at all she has achieved above and beyond.


10 posted on 11/26/2014 12:31:41 PM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: MichCapCon

One of my dad’s frequent sayings comes to mind:

Figures lie, and lairs figure.


11 posted on 11/26/2014 12:39:29 PM PST by taxcontrol
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To: RightOnTheBorder

Sorry, end results don’t count. If the turd polisher was expected to do a crappy job and did a poor job, he’d get an A+.

If the diamond polisher was expected to do an outstanding job and did a merely excellent job, he’d flunk and be fired.

On the bright side, we’ll have a nation of crappy turd polishers.


12 posted on 11/26/2014 12:52:58 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: hinckley buzzard

I am well aware of how “fudge factors” and “policy-driven evidence making” works, thank you very much.


13 posted on 11/26/2014 1:11:06 PM PST by Zeppo ("Happy Pony is on - and I'm NOT missing Happy Pony")
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