OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) has released a new tool that allows the user to look at any school in any district in the State of Washington to see how they are performing. In this blog report we’ll share the link to the website, explain how to use the tool and then grab some examples from schools in Southwest Washington. You can also ask questions of OSPI and/or make requests and recommendations – we’ll share their email address as well.
Congress passed the ESSA in 2015 to replace NCLB. ESSA claims to push more responsibility down to the State (but still requires the USDoE to review a plan and approve it…so that claim is false). In 2014/2015 Washington State also rolled out the Common Core testing service called the SBAc (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium). This “test” is given at multiple grade levels and purports to accurately assess the student’s performance in Math and English Language Arts (ELA). This was to be a national standard. In reality States continue to withdraw from it so it’s now used in less than 16 states. It was never benchmarked. It was never tested. It’s owned by a private consortium who charges for its use and controls curriculum that is sold to districts. In short it’s a worthless piece of garbage.
Washington State now has about 3 years of data…and the scores are terrible. It appears that OSPI created this tool to allow users to see some of the data in either “raw” or “graphic” form. Let’s walk through an example:
Step 1: Read the background info on the main page
Steo 2: Click the tab on the upper left called “SIF Data Display” [The default is the Aberdeen SD and AJ West Elementary]
Step 3: Click on the “Select a District” and choose your district
Step 4: Click on the “Select a School” and choose a school
Step 5: The data is displayed. Note: You can “mouse over” any of the charts and they will describe the data shown.
The data for that school will show. Let’s look at a real example. Evergreen is the largest SD in SWW. We choose Evergreen HS
Score of 1 = Low Score of 10 = High
ELA: 43% (overall) of students are FAILING
Math: 95% (overall) are FAILING
Graduation Rate: 83% overall but varying from 67-90%
Attendance Rate: 68.5% overall but varying from 46 – 84.5%
Questions/Comments:
- Why are the scores so low? Is it students or the testing?
- How can graduation be 83% when the Attendance Rate and test scores are so low?
- 9th graders are only 60.8% “on track” to graduating?
Summary
- Garbage in garbage out
- The SBAc, as a measurement tool, is nigh on worthless. It’s a waste of time, money and frustration
- Why do we need a “graduation” assessment test at all? Are they saying that grades (GPA) isn’t valid or relevant?
Take a look at your district and schools.
Want to ask questions or give feedback? You can email them at: accountabilitydata@k12.gov.us
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