How study was compiled

12 key factors determine school grades

Test scores only a portion of criteria used to assess the quality of education in districts

Jerry Mendoza Varsity basketball Coach Jeff Potratz leads a practice. Two-thirds of high schoolers in top-ranked Grosse Ile participated in after-school music or sports activities. Grosse Ile students also do well on state and college admission tests.

By Jodi Upton / The Detroit News

    The 2000-01 Detroit News school report card is based on 12 key education factors, ranging from teacher experience, to class size, to standardized test scores.

    As a result, a broad range of school issues are addressed. According to five education experts with whom The News consulted in developing the first report card in the 1999-2000 school year, that is much more revealing than grading districts strictly on test scores, as often is done.

    Here are details about this year’s grading formula, which included nearly 3,000 pieces of information:

n Money spent per student is not an overriding factor; it is just one of the dozen considerations.

    Districts that spend more don’t necessarily score the best. Furthermore, some low-income districts spend large amounts per student, often on specialized programs. This year, The News used the state foundation grant per student instead of expenditures per student, because more current data are available.

n On the advice of the experts, The News factored local poverty into its grading formula. To do that, a computer model estimated what test scores would be if poverty levels were equal among all districts (measured by the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch).

    Where districts performed better than expected — economically disadvantaged or not — they got a boost based on how well they exceeded expectations. But some districts, even those with high poverty, still didn’t perform well against the lowered bar. In those cases, total test scores went down.

n In scoring teacher experience, The News looked for a mix of new teachers and experienced ones. It was worth only one point, however, compared to four points for most other factors in the grading formula.

n The formula examines districts’ three-year trends in the annual Michigan Education Assessment Program tests. In that way, a district got credit if it improved.

n School accreditation boosted the scores of many middle-of-the-pack districts.

    Some, such as Allen Park, make the extra effort to get North Central Association accreditation. That program oversees a wide range of initiatives, ranging from a district’s long-term plan to looking at transcripts to see if teachers are qualified for their subject areas. Not all districts spend the time or effort to apply for elementary accreditation, including some excellent districts.

n Class size represents the average teacher/student ratio in the district. The ratio does not include administrators or specialists.

    The News’ formula is based on the most recent empirical data (1999-2000 in most cases) and doesn’t include factors that are difficult to measure, such as curriculum, after-school tutoring and parental involvement.

    “When you have an index, you have to reduce everything to hard numbers,” said Martha Toth, a parent and school board member in the Van Buren school district, which improved from an “F” grade to a “D” on the latest report card.

    “That doesn’t look as good in districts that don’t have a lot of natural advantages ... where Mom and Dad may have only a general education level.”

    Compared to last year, about a dozen districts had full letter grade changes — primarily because they were on the border of a category in the 99-00 report card.

    Schools with a high rate of poverty that had improving test scores, especially if they jumped to a higher score category, saw such an improvement. Romeo is an example.

You can reach Jodi Upton at (313) 561-8768 or jupton@detnews.com.