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K-12 Dive
Report: Parent school reviews correlate with test scores, not growth or effectiveness
Naaz Modan
March 3, 2021
Dive Brief:
A new report published in a journal of the American Educational
Research Association shows school reviews, often used by parents to
inform school choice, reflect student test scores, which are associated
with race and family income, rather than school effectiveness, which
measures student growth overtime.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology studied parents' reviews of 50,000 public
schools over the course of a decade primarily on GreatSchools.org and
also found urban schools and schools serving affluent families were
more likely to be reviewed by parents.
The findings suggest parents from lower-income, minority families may
not have the same kind of information available online to inform
decisions, while parents accessing and making decisions based on online
reviews may be reinforcing achievement gaps.
Dive Insight:
With statewide testing on the horizon this year, districts are once
again concerned about potential fallout connected to standardized test
scores, including aspects like real estate values and community
perception of school quality. While these stakes concern district
leaders in a normal year, it could prove even more worrisome at a time
when some districts are seeing drops in enrollment and attendance,
often tied to funding.
Recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education says while school
ratings may be off the table this year, requirements around state and
local report cards will stay in place, meaning districts must continue
to be transparent with parents and the public about data on student
learning.
The pandemic has also raised concerns about some affluent families
choosing to send students to private schools, homeschooling or hiring
private tutors or teachers, while lower-income students bear the brunt
of learning losses and declining test scores. However, study coauthor
Nabeel Gillani, a doctoral student at MIT, said additional research is
necessary to distinguish whether reviews reflecting school demographics
could potentially worsen neighborhood segregation.
District leaders have told K-12 Dive that maintaining relationships and
communicating with parents, especially those of color, is key. That
includes offering the "why" behind decisions in the most simplistic and
understandable terms, keeping lines of communication open via email and
other means, and keeping parents in the loop about personalized
learning plans and tapping them as "co-teachers."
In the study, researchers suggested school administrators "foster a
culture where all parents’ voices are valued and parents are encouraged
to share their holistic views about the quality of education their
children receive," according to an AERA press release.
“It is critical to uplift the voices of all parents, especially those
in traditionally underserved communities, to highlight their
experiences within a school community,” GreatSchools CEO Jon Deane said
in the release.
Read this and other stories at K-12 Dive
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