Editorial, 11/30: Test results are good news for LPS, but don't show whole picture
Last week's release of state assessment numbers was literally great news for Lincoln Public Schools.
According to the Nebraska Department of Education's classification system that is heavily based on those test scores, LPS went from a "good" classification back to "great," signaling a possible pandemic rebound for students.
Similar improvement is seen at the school-by-school level: Of the 59 LPS schools included in the report, 11 were considered excellent — the highest ranking possible — which marks an increase of seven from the 2021-22 school year. The number of "good" schools stayed the same at 26, while 20 were "great," an increase of one. LPS also had one less school in the lowest bracket — "needs support for improvement" — according to NDE's accountability system.
Again, this is great news. While there are certain areas where LPS lags behind the state average, any indication of a post-pandemic comeback in student achievement is certainly reassuring.
However, assessments and performance classifications are not the end-all, be-all measurement of student success.
While the overall district's classification is up, the state's labels on individual schools can be problematic. Often, these classifications serve no other purpose than to simply point out where poverty lies, creating, in a sense, a dichotomy of "good" vs. "bad" schools. These labels do not define a school's quality; they are an indication of where systemic problems need to be addressed.
To LPS' credit, it has used the latest testing data, which it has had for months, to host workshops over the summer to scrutinize the data, look for trends and ensure staff members understand the findings, reported the Journal Star's Jenna Ebbers.
And to the credit of NDE, the classification system takes into account more than just test scores from the 2022-23 school year. Metrics like graduation rates, English language learners and chronic absenteeism are also considered as part of the accountability framework's holistic approach.
But, again, the entire picture is somewhat obscured. Shifting cut scores on the state assessment — which is taken by third and eighth graders, as well as by juniors through the ACT — make comparisons to the past data difficult.
Ensuring that the year-to-year data can truly measure trends in proficiency levels in subjects like reading and math would lend more value to the numbers the classifications are based on. Doing so would allow districts to know that great news is actually great.
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