But until now, none of the data has been brought together in a comprehensive manner and made available to the public. And for the first time, the Education Department, working with the University of Rhode Island's National Center for Public Education and Social Policy, has conducted a statistical analysis of student test scores so that public schools can be compared with one another. None of that surprised educators. Teachers, well aware of that fact, have frequently expressed concern about test scores. For example, many teachers who have participated in the Journal-Bulletin and Channel 10 project Teaching Matters have said that it is unfair to compare schools based on test scores alone.
Some schools have students who are relatively easy to educate.
Other schools, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods, present more of a challenge. To account for that, the Education Department and URI created a statistical model by which schools can be compared with one another. Each school's report compares the test scores in that school with the scores of similar schools, based on those same three factors, statewide. The reports show that some schools with relatively low scores are in fact performing better than the scores alone would indicate. For example, at the Dr. Earl F. Calcutt School, in Central Falls, fewer than 1 of 10 of the fourth-grade pupils met the state standard for proficiency in writing.