With the board's expansion of after- school programs and summer school, students are getting more instruction. With the threat of probation for schools and retention for students, many schools are working both smarter and harder. In its test score press release, the Reform Board credited programs and people. Indeed, 9th grade, which is the only grade both to have been spared the lowest scorers and to have students repeat, posted the largest gains of all. Even so, the board should have leveled with the public and explained that this year's scores, to some extent, ran ahead of actual achievement.
Simple honesty requires it.
Beyond that, the politics of school improvement require a Caesar's wife approach to statistics. If you're selective with the numbers, you'll eventually get caught. And that would threaten the growing confidence in the system, which itself contributes to both school improvement, and citizen and legislative support.