The Owl Newsletter

ISSUE 36 | JULY 2, 2001

WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM NEW YORK CITY'S ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT CARDS

The Owl's flown to New York for a visit, and returned with some treasures to share. New Yorkers, like Californians, have been developing accountability report cards to tell their public how their schools are doing. While the Owl's a loyal Californian, he's convinced that New York has much to teach us about reporting results.

Let's get up, stretch our wings, loosen our minds, and get ready to learn a few new accountability moves from fellow educators to the east.

See the New York state version of a high school's accountability report card. This sample happens to be that of John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. (The Owl's chosen this high school for only two quirky reasons: he enjoys Brooklyn, and he's read John Dewey.) The school's annual report is identical in format to every other New York City high school report, comparability that must make New York parents happy. You can also see the parents' guide to this report.

The nine-page report is not a marketing brochure. It is a serious accountability report focused almost entirely on reporting results. Only one of its nine pages contains descriptive text written by the school's leadership. The rest is hard facts. All factors are presented for three years, compared to "similar" schools, and all high schools in NYC.

RESULTS CLEARLY REPORTED

Where it has our California SARC's beat is in these seven areas.

1. Safety: Clear reporting of "police department incidents."

2. Dropouts and Graduates: After four years, the class of 2000 has either graduated, dropped out, or is still enrolled. Terms are clearly defined, and results are easy to read.

3. Immigrants: No shyness here about declaring the percent of students who immigrated to the U.S. within the last three years.

4. Stability: Clear measure of percent of teachers who've taught in this school more than two years. Also notes teacher absences.

5. Expenditures: How much is spent, per student, at this school.

6. Crowding: The capacity of the school is the denominator. Current enrollment is the numerator. Anything over 100 percent is crowded, and over capacity.

7. Academics: In the area of assessing student academic performance, they use statewide tests, the Regents exams, that measure what New York state high school students are supposed to know. Clear criteria mark the passing score at 55.

WHERE CALIFORNIA DATA IS LACKING

This is something to hoot about. If we Californians knew as much about our high schools as those New Yorkers, we'd all be a lot wiser. Here's where this owl thinks Californians are most uninformed.

School spending: Many districts don't know site level spending. Those that do often prefer not to report it to their public. The truth is that it varies widely, based on the seniority of the teaching staff, and the categorical funds its students are entitled to.

Graduation rates: We're still arguing about the meaning of terms. The state board has its definitions, and the CDE has another. The owl has never seen a California district report its grad rates as candidly as NYC does:

Year 2001 graduates
--------------------------------
Year 1997 freshman class

Testing: We're still far from reporting how students are progressing in their mastery of what California schools are teaching. If New York can justify state specific measures of progress, why can't we?

This owl is not the only one hooting for better data. The policy people at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) have recently published an anthology on school finance that contains a strong call for better data. And the EdSource folks are urging the same, with this policy brief on the California Student Information System (CSIS).

We shouldn't have to wait for the data that will make smarter SARC's (and better public policy decisions) possible. The challenge New York offers us is a good one. Let's see if we're wise enough to act on it.

See additional articles on school accountability report cards.

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