Butcher Crunches SOL Scores .... Some Up, Some Down

My friend John R. Butcher is at it again -- Some SOL scores are up, some are down.  He has posted the numbers and analysis on his cranky blog.  I have reposted them below and am calling School Board and City Council members for comments.  Meanwhile, check out the numbers.

By John R. Butcher

VDOE today posted the 2015 SOL data.

“Wait a minute,” you say. “They had those data in time to schedule graduations last May. Why did they wait until now to publish them?”

Good question. Their excuse is that the summer testing data are not available until now. The reason (one suspects; they hide the data so we can’t actually know) is that they manipulate these data extensively and all that futzing takes time.

Quick Background

The new math tests in 2012 and the new reading tests in 2013 lowered the pass rates statewide and clobbered the Richmond rates. The Richmond recovery was delayed because our former Superintendent failed to align the curricula to the new tests. This provided our new Super a nice opportunity to shine.

First Look at the Data

A first look at the 2015 data suggests that it was more of a glowing than a shining:



Compared to some peers and a neighbor:

Stay tuned for more analysis.