As Knightsen is an elementary school we will draw a compassionate veil for the moment over how well
Contra Costa County high schools are doing at producing advanced or proficient geometers. We note in
passing that we rather laboriously took geometry tests for most states (New England uses a common
test, for example) and are confident that California's test was below average in difficulty. Since
California is a very diverse state it is not clear (to us, at any rate) what use state and county scores are.
The percentages here are total of proficient and advanced. Do these scores help a parent decide if
Knightsen is a good school for their child? No, not very much. They are very scores, no doubt, and if
there is historical improvement, or at least stability, a parent should conclude that for many students
Knightsen is likely a good school. What is wanted is a mathematical model where a parent can obtain a
specific prediction by subject and teacher how well his or her child is likely to do. In this particular
case it is NOT likely Knightsen was actually a dreadful school, and was ruining students because the
percentages should have been ten or more points higher. In the previous year Knightsen had scores of
57%, 53%, 58% and 53% so there was improvement - likewise, there were improvements over 2006-7, so
recently someone has been doing something right.
Subject
|
Knightsen
|
California
|
English
|
62%
|
50%
|
Mathematics
|
61%
|
46%
|
Science
|
60%
|
50%
|
History
|
59%
|
41%
|
|