Santa Fe South & Capitol Hill in WSJ

[SoonerInKCMO]

Comparison of the two South-side schools through the stories of two graduates. WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704717004575268752238805736.html?m od=WSJ_hp_editorsPicks)

[Leroy Lizard]

Critics point to studies that suggest many charter schools aren't producing better educational outcomes than traditional public schools, based on standardized test scores, and claim that some are performing very poorly.

That isn't an argument against charter schools. That's an argument against bad charter schools.

[yermom]

well, i'd bet regular schools would be better if they could deny students and keep class sizes down, not to mention fire teachers

[Leroy Lizard]

well, i'd bet regular schools would be better if they could deny students and keep class sizes down, not to mention fire teachers

Student/pupil ratio:

Capitol Hill High School: 14.64
Santa Fe South High School: 16.33

http://sde.state.ok.us/Services/Data/pdf/PUBLIC.xls

[SoonerInKCMO]

Yeah, I've seen studies that indicate class size has little to do with student performance. In the case of those two particular students, I think the the guy had two external advantages over the girl: 1) More stable home life - no month-long trip to Mexico; and 2) One teacher that took a particular interest in him.

[Leroy Lizard]

It's also dangerous to make examples out of two people. They're different. If they had switched schools, who knows what would have happened?

However, Santa Fe South is outperforming Capitol Hill High School by huge margins. (API rating: 1214, 977)

http://www.sde.state.ok.us/AcctAssess/APIReportCards_Site/2009/55I089705.pdf

http://www.sde.state.ok.us/AcctAssess/APIReportCards_Site/2009/55I089977.pdf

I'm not familiar with the API, but the state department of education says: "The API is a numeric score that measures school and district performance based on a variety of educational indicators. It allows schools and districts to gauge their progress toward improving student achievement."

[Soonrboy]

One big thing about API is that special ed students are counted in the mix. I bet that Santa Fe South doesn't deal with that many special ed kids. Too much money to tie up in special ed teachers, psychometrists, specialists, etc. If you have a high special ed enrollment, it could kill your API scores.

[Leroy Lizard]

One big thing about API is that special ed students are counted in the mix. I bet that Santa Fe South doesn't deal with that many special ed kids. Too much money to tie up in special ed teachers, psychometrists, specialists, etc. If you have a high special ed enrollment, it could kill your API scores.

That ain't it.

If we only count regular education students, Capitol Hill still scores way below Santa Fe South. (53% proficient for Capitol Hill in reading versus 76% for Santa Fe South. Capitol did a little better in comparison in math, but still well under Santa Fe South -- 53% versus 61%).

[jkjsooner]

I think charter schools have their place but they generally don't have the obstacles that public schools face. One of the biggest things is that parents have to be proactive to get their kids in a charter school. That in itself weeds out one of the biggest problems - kids whose parents have little to no interest in their child's academic development.

I have a big problem with how charter schools are administered here in D.C. It's essentially a lottery. To me there's something fundamentally wrong with the luck of the draw playing such a huge role in your child's future. Sure, we all faced the lottery in the sky when we were born and some drew good hands and others drew poor hands but that's an inescapable fact of life. We can't control that but we shouldn't be creating our own game of chance with our children's future.

[Leroy Lizard]

I don't like chance playing such a huge factor either, but I don't know any better way.