Educational Achievement
Educational achievement, or the lack thereof, is the reasoning behind school vouchers. Because certain populations of students are lacking in achievement and their schools are failing by state standards, vouchers are introduced as one possible measure to help solve this problem.
This page contains information on:
- What are the current problems in educational achievement?
- What is educational achievement important?
- How do we measure achievement?
- How are schools implicated in educational achievement?
- What does educational achievement mean in relation to vouchers?
- Do vouchers increase achievement?
What are the current problems in educational achievement?
Currently, race and social class are significant determiners in the question of whether a student will succeed in school or not. This is often called the achievement gap, and is shown to be real through lower achievement scores, lower improvement-over-time scores, lower rates of readiness for higher grade levels, higher absenteeism, and higher dropout rates for minority racial/ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and students whose native language is not English. The achievement gap may also be present in the sense that while a certain percentage of minority or economically disadvantaged students are achieving minimum standards, a larger percentage of non-minority or economically advantaged students are achieving high above these standards.
Why is educational achievement important?
Educational achievement is valuable for many reasons:
- A good education matters to the economic success of individuals and of our society.
- A good education attaches to important life course outcomes.
How do we measure achievement?
The most common way to measure student achievement is through standardized testing. However, student achievement is more complicated that just test scores, both in the sense that deciding which other aspects of students and schools to measure besides test scores is difficult, and also that interpreting these data is difficult. We will focus on Wisconsin’s measurements for achievement, though we want to inform the reader that many states have comparable measures.
Wisconsin’s measure of student achievement is the standardized exam called the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam, an exam given to students at various points in their academic career, usually once in each elementary, middle, and high schools. In 2010, Wisconsin adopted the Common Core Standards in Math and English Language Arts, standards that have been adopted in over 45 states. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, these Common Core Standards will form the basis of the Wisconsin state tests, but until that time, the state is still administering the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam.
Students’ scores on these standardized exams are extremely important, as they factor heavily into a larger accountability system, a report card-like index system that was first implemented in 2011-12. In this accountability system, every public school is rated on a scale of 0 to 100 using multiple measures, roughly equivalent to A through F grades, thus the name of report card. This rating ultimately determines how much state money the school receives and also determines voucher-eligibility for students in that district (See hyperlink to Milwaukee page). The state will create an annual report card for each school (the first set of report cards was released in 2012), a system replacing the unpopular No Child Left Behind accountability system.
The report card itself includes four priority areas and three engagement indicators to give each school its final score.
The four priority areas used to rate a school are:
Beyond the four priority areas, the index also measures Engagement Indicators, which are factors that the state feels affect student success and reflect the true success of the school. Each of the Engagement Indicators comes along with a specific goal, that when not met results in specific point deductions from the school’s overall score.
The three engagement indicators are:
Wisconsin’s measure of student achievement is the standardized exam called the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam, an exam given to students at various points in their academic career, usually once in each elementary, middle, and high schools. In 2010, Wisconsin adopted the Common Core Standards in Math and English Language Arts, standards that have been adopted in over 45 states. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, these Common Core Standards will form the basis of the Wisconsin state tests, but until that time, the state is still administering the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam.
Students’ scores on these standardized exams are extremely important, as they factor heavily into a larger accountability system, a report card-like index system that was first implemented in 2011-12. In this accountability system, every public school is rated on a scale of 0 to 100 using multiple measures, roughly equivalent to A through F grades, thus the name of report card. This rating ultimately determines how much state money the school receives and also determines voucher-eligibility for students in that district (See hyperlink to Milwaukee page). The state will create an annual report card for each school (the first set of report cards was released in 2012), a system replacing the unpopular No Child Left Behind accountability system.
The report card itself includes four priority areas and three engagement indicators to give each school its final score.
The four priority areas used to rate a school are:
- Student Achievement: This is a measure of students’ knowledge and skills based on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam, in comparison to state and national standards.
- Student Growth: This is a measure of the change in student knowledge and skills based on the standardized exam.
- Closing Gaps: This is a measure of the closing of gaps through targeting lower-performing groups, such as minority racial/ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and English language learners.
- On-Track and Postsecondary Readiness: This is a measure of students’ educational prospects for postsecondary success, including ACT participation and performance.
Beyond the four priority areas, the index also measures Engagement Indicators, which are factors that the state feels affect student success and reflect the true success of the school. Each of the Engagement Indicators comes along with a specific goal, that when not met results in specific point deductions from the school’s overall score.
The three engagement indicators are:
- Test Participation Rate: This measures how many students take the standardized tests. Each school has a goal of 95 percent participation in standardized testing. If this rate is less than 95 percent but more than 85 percent, five points are deducted from the school’s score, and if less than 85 percent, ten points are deducted from the school’s score.
- Absenteeism Rate: This measures the proportion of students who attend school less than 84.1 percent of the time. If a school has an absenteeism rate of 13 percent or more, five points are deducted from the school’s score.
- Dropout Rate: This measures how many students leave school in grades 7-12 without expecting to earn a high school diploma. If a school has a dropout rate higher than six percent, five points are deducted from the school’s score.
How are schools implicated in educational achievement?
Educational achievement is directly related to schools in two important ways:
- Schools and teachers are deemed at fault for poor student performance: In the eyes of the state, scores on standardized tests are directly correlated with a school’s success in educating students: poor test scores reflect badly on a school. Schools receive ratings based on the Wisconsin’s new report card, and these ratings are indication that the state directly correlates the school’s actions with problems like absenteeism, drop out rates, and poor test performances. The state has thus made it clear that it believes internal to school reforms are important, such as improvements in teacher and administrator quality, curriculum content, disciplinary measures, and peer group. Governor Walker has stated that the best way to get rid of low-performing schools is to have a transparent system showing which schools are failing, giving parents the knowledge to avoid sending their kids to such schools. Opponents of standardized testing and the state report cards believe that these failing schools are often simply a result of high proportions of students with a socioeconomic status and family involvement problems. This means calling a school “failing” is really a misnomer, because the school hasn’t done anything wrong; there are simply too many external factors affecting educational outcomes. In this case, external to school reforms are more essential, such as improving public health, parental employment, family involvement, crime rates, and economic inequalities, because schools simply cannot make a difference for the majority of students when these other issues are present.
- Testing becomes a focus of schools: Because schools are evaluated based on their report card scores (which calculate these scores based heavily on standardized tests), they are incentivized to “teach to the test”. Schools want to receive a better report card grade from the state, so they may decide to emphasize the standardized testing content in the classroom, which ultimately does a disservice to students. In the current Wisconsin budget proposal by Governor Scott Walker, there are incentive payments to schools that do well on their report card ratings, again incentivizing high standardized test scores. See Vouchers in Wisconsin for more information on this.
What does educational achievement mean in relation to vouchers?
Poor report card scores for Wisconsin schools are the reason students either are or aren’t allowed to enter the voucher program. If a school receives a failing grade on the state report card and a few other criteria are met, then the students may be eligible for vouchers. For a detailed description of how this works see Vouchers in Wisconsin.
Of note is that educational achievement measures in schools that accept vouchers are very different than public schools. Despite the high degree of importance Governor Walker and the current political system have put on accountability for schools in the form of proving achievement, voucher schools are not required to be graded, though the passage of Wisconsin Act 28 in July 2009 put more mandates on the private schools than previously existed. Parental choice schools are now required to: administer the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination in reading, math, and science to students in 4th, 8th and 10th grade; provide these standardized test scores to the state; adopt standards for main subjects; create criteria for passing students to higher grade levels; and ensure that teachers and administrators have a bachelors degree. Governor Walker has made some statements that he may require voucher schools to participate in the report card system in the future, in response to critics of the voucher system that argue taxpayer money should not be going to voucher schools that do not have to prove educational achievement.
Of note is that educational achievement measures in schools that accept vouchers are very different than public schools. Despite the high degree of importance Governor Walker and the current political system have put on accountability for schools in the form of proving achievement, voucher schools are not required to be graded, though the passage of Wisconsin Act 28 in July 2009 put more mandates on the private schools than previously existed. Parental choice schools are now required to: administer the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination in reading, math, and science to students in 4th, 8th and 10th grade; provide these standardized test scores to the state; adopt standards for main subjects; create criteria for passing students to higher grade levels; and ensure that teachers and administrators have a bachelors degree. Governor Walker has made some statements that he may require voucher schools to participate in the report card system in the future, in response to critics of the voucher system that argue taxpayer money should not be going to voucher schools that do not have to prove educational achievement.
Do vouchers increase achievement?
The economic theory behind school choice, including vouchers, is that competition benefits all by allowing the creation of better schools and destroying those that are not up-to-standards. If better schools become the norm, then achievement could be increased. Governor Walker has been asked if he felt Wisconsin’s voucher system has improved schools through marketplace competition, and he said that he does not necessarily believe this. Instead, he believes that vouchers improve individual student’s lives.
Many studies have been done on voucher programs, and the evidence is inconclusive as to whether voucher students benefit academically from being in a voucher school. The data is quite difficult to gather, and there are many methodological problems. Students may benefit in other non-academic aspects of life, though, such as having better life course outcomes like an older first pregnancy age and lower incarceration rates.
The discussion of public schools becoming better as a result of competition is disputed by many who argue that public schools may actually worsen as a result of vouchers. Because the worst off of the least advantaged are less likely to enter into the voucher program, then they will be the ones attending public schools, and there will be even worse achievement issues. Some say competition pushes the publics out of the market, but actually vouchers may decrease achievement in the publics by taking the better students, thereby making the public school a school of last choice or pushing the public school out of the market altogether. See Equality and Social Justice for more information on this theory.
Many studies have been done on voucher programs, and the evidence is inconclusive as to whether voucher students benefit academically from being in a voucher school. The data is quite difficult to gather, and there are many methodological problems. Students may benefit in other non-academic aspects of life, though, such as having better life course outcomes like an older first pregnancy age and lower incarceration rates.
The discussion of public schools becoming better as a result of competition is disputed by many who argue that public schools may actually worsen as a result of vouchers. Because the worst off of the least advantaged are less likely to enter into the voucher program, then they will be the ones attending public schools, and there will be even worse achievement issues. Some say competition pushes the publics out of the market, but actually vouchers may decrease achievement in the publics by taking the better students, thereby making the public school a school of last choice or pushing the public school out of the market altogether. See Equality and Social Justice for more information on this theory.
Sources:
- "Accountability Reform." Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. State of Wisconsin, 2013. Web. 09 May 2013.
- Brighouse, Harry, and Gina Schouten. "Understanding the Context for Existing Reform and Research Proposals." Whither Opportunity?: Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children's Life Chances. Ed. Greg J. Duncan and Richard J. Murnane. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011. 507-21. Print.
- "Common Core State Standards." Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. State of Wisconsin, 2013. Web. 09 May 2013.
- DeFour, Matthew. "School of Thought: Private School Vouchers." Sunday State Journal [Madison, WI] 5 May 2013: A1+. Print.
- Richards, Erin. "Gov. Scott Walker Backs Report Cards for Voucher Schools." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Communications, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 4 May 2013.
- McShane, Michael Q., Brian Kisida, Laura Jensen, and Patrick Wolf. Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: Descriptive Report on Participating Schools 2010–11. Rep. University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform School Choice Demonstration Project, Feb. 2012. Web. 4 May 2013.
- Schouten, Gina, and Harry Brighouse. High-Commitment Charter School Paper Draft. Working paper. N.p., n.d. Print.