The Owl Newsletter

ISSUE 35 | MAY 24, 2001

SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT CARDS' GROWING IMPORTANCE

The Owl has been stretching his wings lately, flying out of California for a change of scenery. School report cards are being discussed everywhere. And by all accounts, from the White House to backyard barbecues, from Democrat to Republican, people agree these reports matter.

Education reporter and author Jay Mathews of the Washington Post wrote a column last month titled, "Report Cards are Keeping Parents in the Dark." His concerns were quality and access.

He noted that 13 states don't require school districts to publish school report cards at all. Those that do, often fail to include important data that in fact is collected, but not revealed.

An advocacy group, the Center for Community Change, issued their assessment of the quality of school report cards last month. They affirmed the potential power of these documents. But they criticized the quality of many states' efforts, and urged Congress to include in their imminent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, strict requirements that each state's report cards must meet.

They also criticized the lack of access to clear facts about schools. "Getting data from local schools or districts should not be like getting blood from a turnip."

You can read their report. Or you can read more about it in Education Week's story of April 19.

If you want more evidence, Pres. Bush even got the spirit, pushing the importance of school level report cards in his February proposal for education reform, stating: "Parents, armed with data, are the best forces of accountability in education."

The President's views matter here, and you can expect that the new and improved Title I legislation will continue to require all districts to publish school profiles. The purpose: to show parents how their schools are doing.

Flying home, the Owl brings you a few questions. What are you doing to improve the quality of your own school accountability report cards? Do you know what meaning your public makes of your SARC's now? Have you prepared your principals to "stand and deliver" your SARC's to parents at Open House nights? Are you distributing your SARC's to all parents, both on paper and on-line? Do your SARC's start conversations about measures of progress that help you build stronger bridges to the communities you serve? Are you reaching your parents who read and speak Spanish at home?

Want to talk more about SARC's? Write the Owl at: stever@schoolwisepress.com

to see what School Wise Press can do to help your district publish SARC's that help your parents really "get it." The Owl welcomes your comments, as always.

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