Report faults school evaluation

A new report from the state’s legislative analyst castigates California’s system for evaluating and improving schools. In particular the report, released Tuesday, cited confusion and conflict between state and federal reforms.

According to the analysis, “the state and federal systems form a labyrinth of duplicative and disconnected program requirements that send mixed messages to teachers, parents, schools and districts.”

The authors also noted that since 1999, officials have invested $2.5 billion in school improvement programs, and yet “more schools in California are deemed in need of improvement today than a decade ago.”

State education officials insisted that schools have made solid progress in some areas but said they agreed with much of the analysis.

The recommendations include moving toward one evaluation system, tracking the performance of individual students and focusing on helping school districts rather than individual schools.

-- Howard Blume