About good measures for good schools - Center for Public Education

How good are our nation’s schools? How good are the schools in your own community? If you are a parent seeking the best education for your child or a local school official or legislator making broader policy decisions about your schools, you have probably asked these questions more than once. Likewise, if you are a business person who needs capable workers or an average taxpayer who desires a vibrant community with cost effective public services, these questions have probably crossed your mind. The successful school measures contained in Good measures for good schools can help you evaluate your school’s successes. Here you to can find answers and perhaps make decisions for the future of your community’s children, your district’s schools, and even your own child.

What do we mean by successful school measures?

For many, a key measure of school success will be how well students score on a state or national test. For your high schools or the school system as a whole, the percentage of students who graduate or the number who go on to college might be another crucial sign. In addition to measures like these—ones that look at student performance—you can also evaluate your schools on the basis of the programs they offer. For example, does your school offer a rigorous science curriculum across all grades and for all students? Does it offer special programs for advanced or gifted students or provide support for those who are struggling? Does your school have teachers who are credentialed and experienced in the subjects they teach? Are meaningful professional development opportunities available to them? Does the climate of the school support student learning? For example, are parents involved, academic achievement valued, and discipline concerns minimal?

In all likelihood no one measure will provide a full appraisal of your school. For parents, the measures you select can help you judge how well your school is doing and assist you to be better advocates for the programs and resources you want for your child. For school officials, the measures you select and how you interpret them can play a big role in reinforcing those areas you judge successful and, therefore, worth continuing and bringing into other schools. Each measure can also help you identify areas in which your school(s) need improvement.

A practical guide

Good measures for good schools is a practical guide to the effective use of certain measures that help make schools successful. We identify what these measures are through questions you should be asking, present how each can be used, and how the data contained in each should be interpreted.

Furthermore, test results will vary depending on whether the school encourages a large portion of students to take the test or just those who are more likely to go to a four-year college. Similarly, the special programming your school offers, the incidence of school safety concerns, or test results can have more significance if you have other schools or school systems to compare yours to that are socio-economically similar to yours. Good measures for good schools is designed to give you easy access to national data for nearly thirty successful school measures and their best use. We have chosen these measures based on comparable national and state data. You will most likely find data better suited to your school(s) at the local level. The questions posed in this guide are suggestions for what to look for and what to ask.

You'll want to check back frequently since we'll be making updates as new information and data become available.