Surprising test score analysis (Arlington, McLean: schools, to move, teacher)

[CBA]

I compiled the following list in my own research and was a bit surprised myself. Just wanted to throw it out there as an example of why every parent should do their own research to find the "best" schools for their children rather than rely on generalized comments about which schools are generally regarded as the most desirable. Granted, if you are looking for merely pass rates, rather than for proficiency, your own analysis will lead you elsewhere. Again, the point is not to advocate for one school over another--it's that we should use these great boards as a starting point and then do our own research. Test scores alone do not a happy childhood make. But if you are really motivated by test scores, you may be surprised by what you find.

% proficient per VA Dept of Ed records (2007-2008):

writing:
Wash-Lee 56%
West Potomac 55%
McLean 51%
Yorktown 44%
Madison 44%
Fls Ch Cty 43%
Langley 36%

geometry:
Fls Ch Cty 64%
Madison 63%
West Potomac 62%
W-L 62%
Yorktown 61%
Langley 56%
McLean 53%

reading:
West Potomac 45%
W-L 44%
Fls Ch Cty 37%
McLean 36%
Yorktown 34%
Madison 28%
Langley 23%

Algebra II:
Fls Ch Cty 66%
McLean 58%
West Potomac 57%
W-L 56%
Yorktown 55%
Madison 55%
Langley 43%

Algebra I:
Madison 81%
Yorktown 80%
West Potomac 80%
Langley 76%
W-L 73%
McLean 71%
Fls Ch Cty 48%

[ACWhite]

This should be interesting to those who claim that Fairfax schools are superior to Arlington schools.

[tgbwc]

Those are the % proficient. Because I am curious, I am going to look at the % of advanced, which is higher than proficient.

[CBA]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Those are the % proficient. Because I am curious, I am going to look at the % of advanced, which is higher than proficient.

Ohhhhh....thanks for pointing this out. I had inadvertantly neglected to consider this 'advanced' category, mistakenly thinking that 'proficient' was the highest level. Adding together both the advanced and proficient categories does make a difference. The research continues....

[CBA]

tgbwc alerted me to an error in my analysis, which I should correct for any future parents who might rely on my list. I was interested in finding out %s for superior performance, and was under the mistaken impression that the 'proficient' category identified it. Apparently, it does not. Four of the categories of analysis on the Dept of Ed website are %advanced, %proficient, %passed, and %fail. The sum of the advanced and proficient categories equals the passed category. Therefore, 'proficient' means nothing more than a passing grade and does not indicate superior performance, which is what I was looking for and implied I was listing in my previous post.

So, to clear up any confusion, here is my list again, this time identifying 'advanced' performance.

Algebra I:
Fls Ch Cty 48%
McLean 27%
Langley 26%
Wash-Lee 18%
Madison 18%
Yorktown 17%
West Potomac 11%

Algebra II:
Langley 54%
Yorktown 41%
Madison 41%
McLean 38%
Wash-Lee 35%
Fls Ch Cty 29%
West Po 25%

Reading:
Langley 76%
Madison 71%
Yorktown 65%
McLean 63%
Fls Ch 61%
W-L 51%
West Po 50%

Geometry:
McLean 43%
Langley 41%
Madison 35%
Fls Ch 33%
Yorktown 29%
W-L 20%
West Po 17%

Writing:
Langley 64%
Madison 55%
Yorktown 54%
Fls Ch 54%
McLean 47%
West Po 38%
W-L 38%

Okay. Well then. Perhaps not so surprising after all. Now that I've ruined my credibility on C-D, I'll humbly stick to asking the questions around here.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by CBA

tgbwc alerted me to an error in my analysis, which I should correct for any future parents who might rely on my list. I was interested in finding out %s for superior performance, and was under the mistaken impression that the 'proficient' category identified it. Apparently, it does not. Four of the categories of analysis on the Dept of Ed website are %advanced, %proficient, %passed, and %fail. The sum of the advanced and proficient categories equals the passed category. Therefore, 'proficient' means nothing more than a passing grade and does not indicate superior performance, which is what I was looking for and implied I was listing in my previous post.

So, to clear up any confusion, here is my list again, this time identifying 'advanced' performance.

Algebra I:
Fls Ch Cty 48%
McLean 27%
Langley 26%
Wash-Lee 18%
Madison 18%
Yorktown 17%
West Potomac 11%

Algebra II:
Langley 54%
Yorktown 41%
Madison 41%
McLean 38%
Wash-Lee 35%
Fls Ch Cty 29%
West Po 25%

Reading:
Langley 76%
Madison 71%
Yorktown 65%
McLean 63%
Fls Ch 61%
W-L 51%
West Po 50%

Geometry:
McLean 43%
Langley 41%
Madison 35%
Fls Ch 33%
Yorktown 29%
W-L 20%
West Po 17%

Writing:
Langley 64%
Madison 55%
Yorktown 54%
Fls Ch 54%
McLean 47%
West Po 38%
W-L 38%

Okay. Well then. Perhaps not so surprising after all. Now that I've ruined my credibility on C-D, I'll humbly stick to asking the questions around here.

Ruined your credibility? No. I just know that scores can be interpreted so many different ways depending on how you look at them. I am a teacher and we are always looking to move those students in the "proficient" category to the "advanced".