Fudging the Numbers

Fudging the Numbers

Occasionally I run into teachers from the Cleveland schools, and if conversation begins concerning charter schools, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) numbers are usually brought up by the teacher as a matter of fact way of showing me how poor the charter schools are compared to the municipal schools. They will use the ODE statistics to show how the charter schools compare to all of the public schools in the state. Unfortunately many cities do not have or allow charter schools. Charter schools are usually only found in the same communities where the public school system has failed. They offer a choice.

I can show using the same ODE data that in most cases where there is a poor charter school, there is an equally poor public school in the same neighborhood. I find it interesting that as far as the Cleveland teachers are concerned, that does not matter; the poor ODE numbers only apply to charter schools. When I show them equally poor numbers of the public schools, I usually get a response listing all kinds of excuses and reasons why the numbers are so low.

13th District State Senator Sue Morano used ODE statistics to put down charter schools in a reply to a letter I sent to her . She actually lumped the charter schools in with all public schools across the state. By doing this, the effective municipal schools from cities where charter schools are not allowed were added to the mix effectively minimizing the poor numbers of the failed municipal school systems in cities that allow charter schools. The statistics would have been far different if charter schools were only compared to the municipal schools systems in those cities they both resided in. But alas, this would be closer to the truth and in politics its OK to fudge the numbers a bit for leverage and grandstanding. Here is an excerpt of her letter:

While [your children’s charter] school’s Effective rating in the recent Department of Education Report Card is encouraging, it is also the exception in this state. 57% of all charter schools are considered failing compared to 8.5% in traditional public schools. With such an alarmingly high number of charter schools failing, Governor Strickland has proposed a moratorium on all new charter schools. Charter schools in Ohio need to be held accountable to Ohio’s academic standards and to the $500 million they will collect in tax money this year.

A Cleveland teacher who posts on the Cleveland.com education forum tries to explain why the ODE numbers really don't apply to the municipal schools when they are unfavorable:

“It’s funny, a lot of you people go on about which schools are good and which aren't and you don't even really know how you're measuring the schools. If you're using the state report card, you should consider that the majority of the indicators are based on standardized test scores. Furthermore, you need to consider that standardized test scores correlate most directly with disability status and socio-economic factors.

So, in conclusion, as long as you are going to use that as your measure for "excellence", I can save you some trouble. Send your kid to a school in the wealthiest neighborhood you can afford and you will have your "excellence". Of course, if your kid is disabled, comes from a broken home, or is poor, he might not be welcomed, because he is typically the type of student that lowers test scores. That’s not my measure, it's the states. If you want to buy into it, that's your business”.

Another Cleveland school teacher wrote this defending the Cleveland school’s poor graduation rate also citing all kinds of reasons and excuses why it is so low, including students who die!
Are there really that many high school seniors passing away in Cleveland to effect graduation numbers? Now folks, I live in Cleveland and I can tell you that there are not sizable piles of dead students laying around; enough to hurt the attendance numbers.

It amazes me how far some people will go to defend their public schools stating how misleading and grossly inaccurate the ODE numbers are when measuring the public schools yet they have no problem using the same ODE data to put down the charter schools. She wrote:

“As far as the "dismal graduation rate" is concerned, I think I have made the same point about that extremely misleading statistic. In a district like CMSD, or Cincinnati, or Columbus, the transience of the student population--which directly corresponds with the poverty level of the district's families--will have greatly adverse effect on the graduation rate. Students who transfer frequently are lost track of; those who graduate after summer school in the six weeks following their graduation date are counted as "not graduating;" and kids who die during their school careers subtract from the graduation rate. It's grossly inaccurate. Still, even with the ones who are supposed to graduate, it's pretty low”.

The Attorney General, some Ohio politicians, the Ohio Education Association and some public school teachers will use the ODE data in order to try and quash the charter schools. Our Attorney General, Mr. Dann, has actually stated: “by any measure, the charter schools are utter failures”. Yet there are plenty of public schools that have ranked lower than the charter schools. But they have been neatly hidden away in a politician's example of good statistics when pertaining to the municipal schools.

Am I to understand that poor state Report Card grades and poor ODE statistics apply only to the Charter schools and should be ignored when public schools are concerned? And these people demand accountability? It sounds like nothing more than propaganda to me.

Remember the Wizard of Oz? The enemies of the charter schools play the part of the Wizard. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Just believe what we tell you."

Let your voices be heard folks. Educate yourself. The politicians and enemies of charter schools don't like it when you expose their fudging.