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Friday, January 14, 2005
Coming to a School Marquee Near You
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia Department of Education has named 23 schools state “Schools of Excellence”
The title of “School of Excellence” used to mean little, because many schools that won the state award had low test scores and other undesireable qualities. It’s a shame, because schools that competed for “School of Excellence” worked hard, setting their own goals and documenting their successes with test scores and other things like PTA membership and attendance.
Flash forward to the national obsession with data - hey, I’m one of the obsessed - and the state now has what they say is more objective criteria. In other words, schools are awarded the honor based on their test scores. Those with the highest scores get recognized. Typically these schools are situated in nice neighborhoods with expensive homes and parents who are very involved in their children’s education at home and at school. Additionally, those schools that have improved their test scores, regardless of how high or low the scores are, can get the honor, though they have to meet some other criteria.
What conclusions can you draw from a school with this distinction? Not a whole lot, seeing as so many schools now boast on their marquees that they are “Schools of Excellence,” regardless of how long ago they won. I’d say a recent “Georgia School of Excellence” award signifies a school moving in the right direction - a school that , in general, “works.”
But just like a single test score cannot tell the story of a child, a single award can’t tell you everything you need to know if you are thinking of sending your child to a particular school. To get the full story, you’ll need more information, the kind you can only get from walking the school’s hallways and talking to teachers and parents.
For a list of this year’s “Schools of Excellence,” see the state’s press release
Blog housekeeping: I will try to post every weekday, though breaking news may at times make that impossible. I will not post Monday, because we are off for King Day.
Christoph Guttentag of Duke University alerted me to a correction on his interview. Curriculum, grades and test scores count for 50 percent of Duke’s admissions formula. I corrected the text as soon as he alerted me. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.
You want more links, and I promise they are coming. I’m still getting the hang of this. Some of you asked about RSS, and my tech guru tells me he’s working on it and hopes to have it in a few weeks. Another poster wants to know how to use the search feature just for Get Schooled, and unfortunately we are not able to offer that service at this time.
Thank you everyone for visiting Get Schooled during our first week in the blogosphere. Please bookmark us and check us regularly. I especially appreciate the story ideas. Keep them coming, and please keep posting. Next week, I’ll announce the first Get Schooled contest as well as the “Ask the AJC” feature.
