Editorial: Comparing 2018 CCRPI scores to previous years is not an apple to apple comparison

Published 12:03 am Sunday, December 2, 2018

Grade us “D” for disappointed.

In a recent column on the 2018 College and Career Performance Index (CCRPI), Dalton Public Schools Superintendent Tim Scott wrote: “All but one of our schools in Dalton saw improvements in their overall CCRPI scores” — this despite a note on the Georgia Department of Education website warning in red lettering: “2018 scores are NOT comparable to any prior year. Any comparison, or statement that a school or district’s scores have ‘risen’ or ‘dropped,’ is incorrect.”

Scott credited much of the CCRPI increase to the Progress indicator, touting district scores that, ” At all levels … were above the state average.” District and state data were compared.

However, Content Mastery, the single direct measure of academic proficiency, was mentioned only briefly near the end of the article. Scott wrote, “While we are moving in the right direction, we still have work to do. For example, one area where we see the need for improvement is in the area of Content Mastery.” No data was provided.

So here are Content Mastery scores comparing the district to the state:

• Elementary schools: 57.3 vs. 65.7 state

• Middle school: 54.1 vs. 65.1 state

• High schools: 55.4 vs. 66.9 state

Brookwood School, at 78.8, significantly boosted the elementary score. Dalton High, at 65.4, compensated for Morris Innovative’s 15.4.

Clearly, emphasis on Progress scores in the absence of Content Mastery data is misleading.

We know our teachers and administrators face tough challenges due to high poverty rates and students gaining English proficiency. No one expects Scott to work an academic miracle in a few months. But we do expect accurate reporting.

That said, Scott deserves credit for emphasizing the Georgia Milestone Tests results as important measures of student achievement. The updated Dalton Public Schools website now provides detailed test results by school and reading proficiency as measured by Lexile scores. These changes support the goals of raising academic rigor and performance expectations.

But with the state moving the goal post every few years, the school board and school administration must focus on the few consistently measured metrics that convey current academic performance and are predictors of future academic success.

Third-graders reading on grade level is key to academic success yet in 2018 just 41 percent of our students are proficient — barely moving the needle from 40.4 percent in 2017. Just 23 percent of Dalton graduates entered college without requiring remediation and a mere 17 percent earned college ready scores on national tests such as the ACT. There is a downward trend in the percent of students earning a bachelor’s degree five years after graduation.

Incremental improvements in K-12 performance are inadequate. Our students deserve more and our community requires more. Let’s start with comprehensive reporting on school performance.