ACT Profile Report

posted in: Briefings & Reports, Research, Analysis, & Opinion for Reform-minded Consumers, Tools for Ranking Schools |

  For nearly a decade, states have sought to have all high school graduates meet a standard of “prepared for college or the workplace.”  According to ACT’s most recent report, only 27% meet that standard. The ACT Profile Reports provide valuable information about the performance of each state’s 2017 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. The reports focus on student performance, student access, course selection, course rigor, college readiness, student awareness, and articulation to higher education. … Read More

How Accurate are the Calculator’s Dropout Estimates?

The ECF cost calculator creates a back-of-an-envelope estimate of the tax burden placed on future generations by students who complete their K-12 schooling years either without a high school diploma or with a diploma that leaves them unprepared for college or a career.  As adults, these students will face a lifetime of very limited employment opportunities and a predictable dependence on publicly funded services. Relying on research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and ACT, the calculator forecasts … Read More

Reading: Any US School

  How well does your school teach children to read? In every city, state, and district, some schools are far more effective than their demographic peers. These charts will help you to identify them. Charts are based on the most recent publicly available data. Click here for a guide to creating school and district comparison charts.   Alabama (2023) Alaska (2019) Arizona (2023) Arkansas (2023) California (2023) Colorado (2023) Connecticut (2023) Delaware (2024) DC (2022) Florida (2024) Georgia … Read More

Tennessee’s Value Added Assessment: Why It’s Important and How It Works

Value added assessment of school performance is a breakthrough in the measurement of educational performance.  It tells users how much students’ gained in achievement in the just-completed year relative to their past rate of educational progress–irrespective of starting level and the various social, economic, ethnic, and other factors thought to limit or enhance student learning.  Value-added scores, however, are limited to grades 4 through 8, i.e., grades in which there is standardized testing in the same subjects. Read … Read More

School Ranking Charts

Tennessee was the first state to systematically gather and disseminate district and school-level value-added data in 1995.  It was and is the most statistically sophisticated methodology in use.  The Education Consumers Foundation was the first to compile Tennessee’s TVAAS scores into online, interactive and printable graphics that allow users to see schools statewide ranked on the basis of their effectiveness in lifting student achievement.  Since that time, numerous states and school districts have adopted what is essentially the same … Read More

How Effective are the Teachers in Your School District?

In Tennessee and several other states, teacher effectiveness can be assessed on the basis of annual student achievement gains.  Although there are exceptions like the reports that were undertaken by the Los Angeles Times, value added data by levels of teacher performance within school districts is rarely available to the public.  That said, even district averages are of value in assessing the quality of teacher hiring, retention, and oversight  As can be seen in the charts below, there are substantial differences between … Read More