What Do The Rising DCPS Test Scores Really Mean?

by Marlene Berlin

After my Viewpoint in the Northwest Current about the importance of putting the public back in public education, David Bardin asked me what impact I thought former DCPS chancellor Michelle Rhee had on our school system.

My reply: We often look at the rise in test scores as vindication of her reforms. But I pointed out that we have to be careful because we might be comparing two different sets of students.

Ken Archer touches on the changing demographics of public school students in an article he wrote for the Greater Greater Education blog. And he asks an important question about whether this change is behind the rise in test scores. Here is his analysis.