Scores shouldn’t be lumped together

Recently, the Everett School District sent home letters to the parents of their students to let them know about openings in its highly capable program. This program is intended for students who would benefit from an accelerated learning environment.

Armed with this information, I tried to research the ITBS and WASL test scores for the highly capable program to help me assess the value this program might provide my child. I was surprised to see that the test scores for this program were lumped in with the scores for the host schools. Combining the scores skews the test scores for the host schools higher. For example, the ITBS scores for Mill Creek Elementary (one of the program’s host schools) are only slightly higher than the test scores for Silver Firs Elementary. What would the test scores for Mill Creek Elementary be if the test scores for the highly capable program were reported separately? For the general population, which school would be a better choice?

I believe that the test scores for the highly capable (and any other programs) should be reported separately from the host schools’ scores. This would help parents make an informed choice about which programs or schools to put their children in. At the very least, the greatschools.net Web site should provide information that test scores may be affected by a program that is included in the school.

Snohomish