High School Performance: Then and Now
Or … Leslie’s Rant
A few months ago, I went on WBOK radio to discuss public schools in New Orleans. A number of callers, as well as one of the hosts, disputed the fact that our schools are getting better. I readily acknowledge that we have room for improvement, but quite frankly, I am tired of the revisionist history some folks insist on using to rationalize their opposition to the school reforms taking place in New Orleans.
There cannot be honest disagreement, based on any semblance of facts, on whether schools are doing a better job educating students today versus 2005 – THEY ARE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER.
To make my point, let’s look at the TOPS data, which is compiled by the Office of Student Financial Assistance (not the Department of Education). Louisiana offers qualifying students a scholarship to a 4-year (TOPS Opportunity1) or 2-year (TOPS Tech) college based on a combination of GPA, coursework, and ACT scores. OSFA has been compiling this data since TOPS began, and the standard for earning a scholarship is the same in 2013 as it was in 2005, so it’s a pretty good measurement to compare high school performance.
So let’s compare.
New Orleans has made remarkable gains since 2005.
In 2013, 38% of our graduates qualified for TOPS scholarships, an increase of more than 50% from the 2005 rate of 25%.
TOPS Eligibility
|
Year
|
# Graduates
|
TOPS
4-year |
TOPS
2-year |
All TOPS
|
|
2005
|
2906
|
16%
|
9%
|
25%
|
|
2013
|
2252
|
26%
|
12%
|
38%
|
View LOSFA’s 2013 TOPS report.
But this isn’t the real story.
Critics of the current reforms say they don’t like that schools are run by two governing bodies – RSD/BESE and OPSB. They want to go back to just one system.
They forget that in 2005 New Orleans also had two school systems: a system of “good” schools and one of “bad” schools – separate and very unequal.
These two unequal systems are vividly captured in the 2005 TOPS data. Continue reading