Accountability - a mantra for Spinmasters - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Reader comment on:
A Flawed Reform

Submitted by Woodlass, Dec 17, 2007 18:25

Ravitch is 100% correct when she says: "When a grading system produces such bizarre results, it lacks face validity. That is, on the face of it, the evaluation system is suspect."

The mantra coming out of Tweed these days is Accountability, and Bloomberg and Klein have made much of testing and test score comparisons to convince people that they know how to make schools accountable.

But it is clear that from almost every possible angle – different tests, different test-takers (and what side of the bed they woke up on the day of the test), different amounts of accommodation, different degree and quality of prep, different testing conditions, and even different morality in marking – comparisons of test scores do not stand up to scrutiny or further the cause of accountability.

Test score data is useful for one thing only: Spin. And that's the farthest away from accountability you can get.

What, then, are they REALLY trying to do with our schools and our kids?

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Unbelievable! Did these schools actually close? Surely the authorities were made aware of the absurdity arrising from this situation. Do... [MORE]	Brent T Davis	Jan 17, 2008 12:15
The grading system put out by the Dept. of Miseducation only makes sense if you have no idea what is... [MORE]	Joel Moss	Dec 20, 2007 19:17
While Diane Ravitch raises some good points about the validity of grades awarded to already high performing schools, her message... [MORE]	Gideon Primo	Dec 20, 2007 00:14
Big apple reforms are flawed at their very core Citywide mandated math and reading instruction for the majority of our students... [MORE]	Elizabeth Carson	Dec 19, 2007 13:53
It is one of the ugly ironies of these last six years that the current mayor has been entrusted with... [MORE]	Don Carlson	Dec 19, 2007 12:56
if we want to continue to tweak the nyc public school system then how much progress will we be able... [MORE]	karen green	Dec 18, 2007 17:49
Ravitch is 100% correct when she says: "When a grading system produces such bizarre results, it lacks face validity. That...	Woodlass	Dec 17, 2007 18:25
One fact which has not been considered in this analysis is that 85% of the report card score was based... [MORE]	Carol Foresta	Dec 17, 2007 14:00
As a NYC public school parent, I agree whole heartedly! Dr. Ravitch is a voice of reason and expertise; qualities... [MORE]	Gary Babad	Dec 17, 2007 11:39

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