Update: School Rankings Release Delayed

The California Department of Education will not release rankings based on standardized test scores for just about every public school in the state today (Thursday) as originally announced. Instead, the scores will be released at a time to be specified later, according to the Department of Education's website.

If past performance is any kind of predictor, the public middle schools in Pleasant Hill will look pretty good when stacked against every middle school in California, but not so well when compared to schools with similar demographics.

Students at and middle schools do better on standardized tests than eight out of ten students statewide, but they are in the 30th and 40th percentile respectively when compared to peers at similar schools. At students are also in the 80th percentile statewide, but they are outperformed on standardized tests by nine out of ten students at high schools with similar demographics.

So here’s the question. Do you feel the state’s massive standardized testing apparatus provides an accurate reflection of a school’s quality? Do you care how your kid’s school ranks on scales like the Academic Performance Index (API)? What measurements do you use to judge the quality of your child’s education?