Mich. Ed. Roundup – January 9
New School Data Display Goes Live
Michigan parents will get their first glimpse of a new way to view school data, as the state launches data dashboards for each public school. The move follows a recent reorganization of the state’s public education data portal, www.mischooldata.org, and was part of the state’s planning efforts under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
The data dashboard for each school includes factors such as student proficiency rates, student improvement, graduation rates, attendance rates and other measures. Over time, many more measures are expected to be added to the display, including information on the success of groups of students within a school.
“Providing easier access to more information about local schools is always a good thing,” said Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust-Midwest. “Now, Michigan needs to take the next step and make school quality information more meaningful for parents. The dashboards still lack a comprehensive rating to signal overall quality, such as a letter grade.”
Over the past several months, the Michigan Department of Education has abandoned a plan to publish both a comprehensive rating and a data dashboard. The Education Trust-Midwest continues to encourage the Department to make it easier for parents to review and compare school quality through a comprehensive rating.
Capital Update
The Michigan State Department of Education meets today January 9 at 9:30am in the Ladislaus B. Dombrowski Board Room of the John A. Hannah Building. The agenda includes presentations on the school data dashboards and the “partnership district” model, the state’s current effort to improve struggling schools.
The Michigan House and Senate will reconvene tomorrow, January 10 at noon. The 2018 Session Schedules are available here.
Noteworthy News
- Yes, there are high-poverty public schools that operate at a high level. Here’s how they succeed. – Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post
- Feds Set Stage for ESSA ‘Innovative’ Testing Pilots. But States, Vendors May Move Slowly. – Sean Cavanagh, EdWeek
- 16 Years After No Child Left Behind: 10 Reasons Accountability Still Matters – William McKenzie, The 74
- What does it cost to educate a student? – Gilda Jacobs, Oakland Press
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