HONEY! Our Little Scholar is Home with his Report Card !

The folks over at the Bluegrass Institute drew my attention to the fact that Junior's Report Card is out. And there's a bad mark.

B+
B-
3 Cs
and a D+

D+ ! Wait until your mother gets home!

So the Bluegrass Institute's research guy reached out and gave a little tweak to those of us who have noted Kentucky's increasing rank among the states in student achievement in recent years.

The inference is that those of us who engaged in the hoopla, were somehow misleading the public -and we all know how bad that would be. As Austin Powers might say, "Ouch, Baby. Ouch."

The facts are these:

• Kentucky has made progress in recent years relative to the 50 states.
• Three separate 2007 reports showed Kentucky at 34th, 31st and 34th.
• But in-state data is also unequivocal - Kentucky's student achievement progress is not yet sufficient.

Those are the facts. But what is the spin?

Now, Quality Counts is the kind of cobbled together assessment BGI might otherwise criticize, if the results were less to their liking - but true to its mission one supposes - BGI went straight for the lowest score and dismissed the rest.

Now, I may not like it, but that's actually OK with me. Whatever data Kentucky produces, I say, let's see it. But let's not misinterpret the meaning.

As BGI knows whenever the states are ranked in any category, it it teaches us nothing about the strength of a score. Arguably, every state in the union is lacking in student achievement. In fact, the 2007 NAEP student achievement leader, Massachusetts, scored - B for student achievement.

All a rank does is to compare relative standing.

So how does the Quality Counts (subscription required) report card deal with that? Why, for every score Kentucky gets, Quality Counts tells us the the national average score.

Chance for Success: Kentucky = C; Nation = C+

K-12 Achievement: Kentucky = D+; Nation = D+

Stnds, Assesmt & Accountability: Kentucky = B+; Nation = B

Transitions & Alingmt: Kentucky = C; Nation = C

Teaching Prof: Kentucky = B-; Nation = C

School Finance: Kentucky = C; Nation = C+

Now, we're able to compare (if very roughly) Kentucky's relative standing in student achievement. And since we know our student achievement score matches the national average - low as that may be - in terms of state rank, Kentucky falls among those states at the 50th percentile?

Isn't that wonderful news?

So here's my new headline:

Quality Counts Report Shows Kentucky now tied for 25th
in K-12 Student Achievement !!!

BGI applauds the jump from 34th.

But seriously folks...

It is readily apparent that one should not place too much weight on any one study. Better to set up as good a system as one can, and let it work. The trending data over time teaches us much. The important thing is that we are all working to make the schools better - not abandon them.

What I see from the study is some confirmation that our ultimate chances for success aren't on par with our competition (neither are they out of reach) and that less than optimal support for the system probably contributes to that circumstance.

For a more serious assessment of Kentucky's situation check out, "Substantial And Yet Not Sufficient: Kentucky's Effort to Build Proficiency for Each and Every Child," By Susan Weston and Bob Sexton. It was presented at Columbia University's conference, Campaign for Educational Equity, in November.