MA DESE DART Analysis Tool: Comparing Schools & Districts

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has added a new information tool to the district and school level data available on their website under DART (District Analysis and Review Tool) - Analysis. This tab allows one to view districts or schools most comparable to his or her child(ren)'s own based on the district or school's grade span, total enrollment and special populations. According to the DESE, the school districts most comparable to Lynn are: 

• Boston
• Chicopee
• Everett
• Fall River
• Lawrence
• Lowell
• Malden
• Revere
• Springfield 
• Worcester

A school district like Swampscott, on the other hand, is most similar to districts such as Ashland, Bedford, Dracut, and Seekonk.

The analysis tool also allows you to see the district's as well as the comparable districts' total enrollments and low income, special education and English Language Learner populations. MCAS proficiency rates and growth scores for these districts are provided as well. See here for an example: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/analysis/default.aspx?orgcode=01630000&orgtypecode=5&

The tool provides even more detail as it allows you to look at comparisons for individual schools based on the same criteria (total enrollment, special population, grade span). It is interesting to note that within districts, schools that cover the same grade spans will have different comparable schools based on their specific populations. For example, some of Marshall's (Lynn) comparable schools are Roosevelt Middle School (New Bedford), Sullivan Middle School (Worcester) and Breed Middle School (also Lynn) while Pickering's most comparable schools include John T Reid Middle School (Pittsfield), Gardner Middle School (Gardner) and Mary E Wells Jr. High (Southbridge).  Further a school like Sisson had comparable schools in towns like Attleboro, Dennis-Yarmouth and Weymouth while Ford had comparables in cities such as Brockton, Chelsea and Lawrence. 

To view comparables for your school or district, see:  http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/

Should Demographics Make a Difference in Expected Educational Outcomes?

In previous posts, it was noted that when compared to similar districts, Lynn is ranked first in terms of its educational outcomes (likely standardized tests scores). There has been a lot of talk about comparing "apples to apples" when measuring how Lynn fares in comparison with other districts. More specifically, Lynn should most realistically be compared to districts like Lowell or New Bedford as opposed to Marblehead or Swampscott due to the similarities in demographics. What about comparing schools serving common grades within the same district? Even though all of the students reside in Lynn, should we expect the same level of performance from each school despite sometimes significant differences in demographics? Here contextual factors were discussed in terms of considering how they could be as much or potentially more of a contributing factor to Lynn's academic achievement than the school system's leadership (i.e. the superintendent and principals).

Lynn schools do differ in terms of demographics such that some schools are faced with educating a much higher proportion of English Language Learners or special education students than others.

*ELL = English Language Learner

*LEP = Limited English Proficiency
________

*      =   No NCLB Status - English Language Arts/Reading
**     =   No NCLB Status - Math
***   =   No NCLB Status - All Subjects

	ELL	LEP	Low Income	Special Education	NCLB Status
Aborn***	25.1%	7.0%	56.0%	8.2%	Level 1
Brickett**	43.1%	21.6%	85.0%	5.6%	Level 2
Callahan	43.1%	15.9%	76.7%	20.9%	Level 2
Cobbet	73.3%	41.6%	90.8%	10.4%	Level 3
Connery	77.1%	43.6%	93.7%	5.4%	Level 4
Drewicz	65.7%	29.6%	89.4%	16.2%	Level 3
Ford	65.1%	37.1%	90.0%	7.0%	Level 3
Harrington	66.5%	32.9%	88.3%	14.2%	Level 4
Hood	46.6%	19.5%	85.3%	15.7%	Level 3
Ingalls	66.0%	34.6%	93.1%	12.4%	Level 2
Lincoln-Thomson**	32.3%	15.7%	69.0%	7.3%	Level 2
Lynn Woods	7.0%	2.5%	38.2%	18.5%	Level 2
Sewell Anderson	33.7%	11.0%	69.0%	28.2%	Level 2
Shoemaker*	20.2%	2.1%	51.0%	30.2%	Level 1
Sisson*	23.3%	8.3%	58.1%	11.9%	Level 1
Tracy**	64.3%	32.4%	93.1%	6.6%	Level 1
Washington	21.4%	5.4%	92.9%	100.0%	Level 1
	ELL	LEP	Low Income	Special Education	NCLB Status
Breed	59.2%	14.4%	88.1%	22.1%	Level 3
KIPP: Lynn	38.6%	7.7%	83.5%	13.1%	N/A
Marshall	62.1%	19.1%	94.4%	18.3%	Level 3
Pickering	34.5%	4.2%	64.6%	20.3%	Level 2
	ELL	LEP	Low Income	Special Education	NCLB Status
Lynn Classical	53.1%	12.2%	80.9%	11.6%	Level 2
Lynn English	51.1%	11.0%	78.7%	12.0%	Level 1
Lynn Tech	61.4%	17.7%	89.7%	24.9%	Level 3
Fecteau-Leary	39.3%	1.2%	91.1%	43.5%	Level 1

Does this information make a difference in how these schools should be expected to perform both in isolation and in comparison with other schools in the district?

For MCAS results see:

• Elementary Schools
• Middle Schools
• High Schools: Here and Here

For more on the NCLB Accountability Ratings, see here

*Data (2011-12) taken from: http://www.doe.mass.edu/