Article 4- "When standardized test scores soared in D.C., were the gains real?"

Click here for the article from USA Today.

You may be saying to yourself, "I bet I know what the assignment will be!" Well, guess what?  You are right!!!

Work with a partner (if your last one was a slacker, you might want to find a new one!) to answer the following discussion questions (Stop your whining!  This will make you smarter!).  Turn them in on paper or email them to james.taormina@mnps.org or erin.gentry@mnps.org.  This will be a daily grade.

Discussion Questions for "When standardized test scores soared in D.C., were the gains real?"

1. Define: No Child Left Behind, Freedom of Information Act, standardized test, statistician, anomaly, chancellor, methodology, rationale, impropriety

2. “Noyes is one of 103 public schools here that have had erasure rates that surpassed D.C. averages at least once since 2008. That’s more than half of D.C. schools.” Is this surprising? How many schools would you expect to have higher than average rates at least once in several years?

3. How could an adult cheat without leaving erasures?

4. Why did the USA Today conduct this investigation, according to the article?

5. “The odds are better for winning the Powerball grand prize than having that many erasures by chance, according to statisticians consulted by USA Today.” Does this mean that the odds that the school was honest are as low as those of winning the Powerball?

6. If random chance and cheating were the only possible explanations, which would you think was more unlikely?

7. “A high erasure rate alone is not evidence of impropriety.” Do you agree? Why does the USA Today think that impropriety is a good explanation for the high erasure rate? What other explanations does the article suggest? What others can you think of?

8. Are any other explanations as likely, in your view, as cheating? Why?

9. What benefits come to school officials as a result of cheating if they do not get caught? Why might a school conclude that it is unlikely to get caught?

10. Is it a bad thing that Michelle Rhee pressured principals to produce good scores? How can you encourage somebody to accomplish something without also encouraging that person to pretend to accomplish something?