Be careful of using students’ achievement data in educational research

The article about using data reminds me of a conversation on types of finals among my roommates. Two of my roommates are from the School of Engineer, and another one is from Carey business school. All of them have written examinations at the end of the semester, while I have three projects to present. At first, I was complacent because I don’t have to spend days and nights on rote learning. But after I read the article and reconsidered my process of each project, I regretted having such a superficial understanding of education research. I feel even harder to plan an educational program compared to written tests.

Hess (2008) explained three aspects of misusing data, which are using data in half-baked ways, translating research simplistically, and giving short shrift to management data. He also gave readers four suggestions to avoid the problems mentioned above (Hess, 2008, p.12). Previously, I thought students’ achievement data is vital for the assessment of a policy, or a teacher’s quality because, in my high school, teachers’ rewards are directly related to students’ academic performance. For example, my math teacher had more bonus as my class had higher average scores compared to other classes. Therefore, when I was thinking how to measure a teacher’s quality, a comparison between students’ previous scores and present scores is the first thought in my mind. However, my classmate was a little hesitated when I presented the idea. I was confused at that time because I believe the testing result is the most effective way for assessment. And now, Hess (2008) explained the reason that over-focusing on student achievement undermines confidence in management (Hess, 2008, p.13). Too many educators, including me, exaggerate the effect of student achievement data, while it just illustrates how students are faring. No matter that at least three methods are required when collecting data or making an assessment.

Besides, I was thinking about my own experience when I read the article. I was educated in China, whose educational system is exam-oriented. For example, when applying for college, American students have to take SAT, write personal statements, or maybe have interviews. But for Chinese students, we have only one standard, which is the college entrance examination. I am not saying that this kind of system is the worse in the world because there is no better way to realize education equity when dealing with a large population. But it does become a barrier for Chinese educators to come up with creative ideas to change the current situation.

I think the purpose of education is to develop students’ growth, such as cognitive development, academic achievement, and social-emotional status. For educators, academic achievement is the easiest ways to evaluate because we can see the tendency by quantity data. However, we cannot over-stress the importance of test scores. Is it necessary to collect student achievement data? Is it efficient to measure performance by using student achievement data? We have to ask ourselves before we conduct research.

Reference

Frederick M. Hess. (2008). The New Stupid. Retrieved from:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec08/vol66/num04/The-New-Stupid.aspx

Respecting ALL Communities with Overcrowded High Schools

It's no secret that many schools in the Baltimore area are overcrowded. Baltimore County Public Schools recently held a series of community events in which the Interim Superintendent, Verletta White, met with students, families, and community members to discuss many issues, including possible solutions to currently overcrowded high schools. One of the most obvious solutions presented at the meeting was to redistrict schools to even out numbers. While this suggestion seemed acceptable to many BCPS community members, there was one area in particular that seemed to push back. 

The southwest side of Baltimore County has historically been a drastically economically and racially segregated area with very clear neighborhood lines. If you were to look at a map of Interstate 695, you would notice that moving from south to north, you would first enter the zoning district of Lansdowne High School, then Catonsville High School, then Woodlawn High School. It would be logical to assume that these neighborhoods blend into each other, and that if one school's demographics differed drastically from another, these schools would be on the opposite ends of this south-to-north spectrum. But if one were to compare the demographic data of these three high schools they would notice that that is not the case (see chart below). Catonsville has historically been able to maintain an affluent population, despite being wedged in between two less comfortable groups of neighborhoods.

Because of this, it should be no surprise that community members in the southwest area responded to a survey stating that their most important concern was to ensure redistricting impacted "the fewest number of students" rather than stating that their most important concern was to "reduce the overcrowding at high schools" as most survey responses in other communities stated.

At the community meeting—held at Catonsville High School—Interim Superintendent White was described by the Baltimore Sun as understanding that “communities in the Baltimore area feel a connection to their schools.”  Looking at the socioeconomic data from each high school, it seems more likely that communities in the Baltimore area don’t have as much of a connection to their high school as they do a fear of being placed in another high school.

Hopefully, as the suggested options are presented BCPS, will make a decision which benefits all students and their families, not only one neighborhood.

	LANSDOWNE	CATONSVILLE	WOODLAWN
% OF FARM STUDENTS	60%	28%	61%
% OF CAUCASIAN STUDENTS	42%	53%	3%
% OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS	29%	28%	78%
% OF LATINO STUDENTS	18%	5%	11%
TOTAL STUDENT ENROLLMENT	1338	1754	1409
*all information taken from the 2017 MSDE Report Card

Links:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/ph-ca-at-southwest-schools-20181002-story.html

http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Entity.aspx?k=031371

http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Entity.aspx?k=030174

http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Entity.aspx?k=030172