One-Stop Research on Schools

The long-elusive goal of putting detailed measures of school performance into an easy to understand form, available to everyone, at last may be in reach.

A plethora of data--from test scores to the percentage of teachers lacking credentials--can now be found on the Internet for every school in California.

Principally it comes from the California Basic Educational Data System, which is posted on the state Department of Education’s Web site.

But because the information is vast and compartmentalized, it can be intimidating to a parent or teacher who wants a snapshot of one school or school district.

Several Internet-based services are making the search easier by packaging the state’s data into new formats designed to answer the most important questions in one screen or two.

One of the newest ones takes the approach that arcane statistics should be fun. It packs about 50 pieces of information into an integrated visual metaphor that anyone who drives a car can grasp immediately: an automobile dashboard.

Test scores are top center, looking something like a digital speedometer. Demographic statistics such as attendance rates and percentage of limited-English students are represented by tachometer-like dials. Per-pupil spending, expulsions and the number of computers show up on odometer bars. Color coding compares the numbers to the district average.

Although the presentation looks quite simple, it isn’t. UCLA’s Center for Research on Evaluation Standards and Student Testing spent more than a year developing the concept at the request of Mayor Richard Riordan.

After announcing in his 1998 State of the City address that he would publish a citywide school report card to empower parents, he tapped several grants to commission UCLA.

Rich Brown, a statistician who worked on the project, said it was easy enough to decide on the important indicators of school performance. The problem was finding good data and shaping it.

Although test scores and student demographics come straight from the state’s Web site, facts such as crimes on campus and whether it has an after-school program are kept only by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In all, the reports combine data from seven sources. Sometimes there are blanks. Schools with too much missing information were omitted.

There was also a problem matching district data to state data because the two agencies use different school codes. The district keeps separate records for magnet programs tucked into larger campuses. The state does not.

Now the team is tackling a new problem: how to show change over time.

“An easy way is a toggle switch for years,” Brown said.

The reports, posted under “Mayor” on the city of Los Angeles’ Web site, have generated as many as 16,000 hits per month, said mayoral assistant Veronica Davey, who headed the project.

“I found it very useful,” said Los Angeles parent Erin Holman, who used the report cards to choose the Nobel Middle School Math Science Technology magnet in Northridge for her oldest son.

Unfortunately for parents of children outside Los Angeles Unified, only Los Angeles schools are there.

Even if the mayor wanted to go statewide, there would be obstacles because districts don’t all keep the same statistics.

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Two other Web sites present school information in a more pedestrian fashion, but they offer a range of services and cover almost every school in the state.

School Wise Press, a commercial service that partners with The Times, has links to a variety of news, information and commentary, including a research library and national advocacy groups.

It offers some school information at no charge and sells an 11-page comprehensive school profile for $6 per report.

GreatSchools.net, a nonprofit corporation, has a way to compare schools, districts and counties with one another or with the state average and national averages.

It also has a news section and advice on topics such as how to pick schools and volunteer there.

GreatSchools.net is seeking to develop enhanced profiles by having schools contribute information directly about their curriculum, programs, goals and volunteer needs.

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Because both services currently obtain their information largely from the state Web site, there is considerable overlap.

Yet the graphical presentation, as well as how the information is sliced, differs.

School Wise Press, for example, includes the percentage of male teachers because it has heard from parents that they want their sons to have male role models, said president Steve Rees.

“No one else does,” Rees said. “Whether we think it’s smart or not smart, we try to follow our customers’ interests.”

At the same time, there is great parent interest in some information, such as crime statistics, that can’t be plucked from the state and isn’t likely to be self-reported by schools.

Rees predicts that as Internet-based school information services stimulate demand, Sacramento will have to respond by gathering the information the public wants.

“I can’t wait to see that day,” Rees said.

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School Profiles

The following sites on the World Wide Web provide information such as test scores, student demographics, teacher qualifications and budgets for individual schools.

California Department of Education:

https://www.cde.ca.gov/ (extensive downloadable data)

https:// www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/ (school profiles)

Mayor Richard Riordan’s report cards for the Los Angeles Unified School District:

https://www.cityofla.org/MAYOR/lausd/index.htm

School Wise Press:

https://www.schoolwisepress.com/

GreatSchools.net

https://www.GreatSchools.net/gs/

In addition, two sites oriented to people making cross-country moves have similar information for every school district in America.

https://www.SchoolMatch.com/

https://www.2001beyond.com/