Assessment

Report Card Failure

August 14, 2007 1 min read
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If federal law doesn’t ensure that schools and districts report student achievement data to the public, maybe threat of a lawsuit will. Public Advocates is banking on it. The San Francisco-based non-profit law firm has filed suit against California’s Oakland Unified, and sent warning letters to school officials in eight other districts, after finding their school report cards were inadequate, according to this story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Public Advocates reviewed the report cards issued by 20 school districts across the state, and concluded that just one complied with the accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.

At least one local superintendent told the Union-Tribune that he was unaware that his district’s report cards did not meet requirements, and that the problem would be remedied.

Are your report cards meeting the minimal standard for informing the public about your school’s progress? What feedback are you getting from parents and community members about your school report cards?

A version of this news article first appeared in the Motivation Matters blog.

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