69ý

Special Report
Standards & Accountability

How Do You Go About Calculating Student Success? It’s Complicated

September 06, 2018 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Welcome to the third and final installment of Quality Counts 2018, offering a deeper look at two pillars of our state-by-state ranking of the nation’s public schools unveiled in January: the K-12 Achievement Index and the Chance-for-Success Index.

Leave aside the political wrangling—the incessant battles over money, policy, and personnel—that envelop the world of K-12 public education. The ultimate goal of the nation’s school system is to assure that students are on a path to academic achievement and equipped with the tools they’ll need to succeed in a complex and ever-changing society.

But what’s the best way to define progress toward those twin goals? It’s a subjective call and one that the Education Week Research Center tackles through a pair of data-driven yardsticks made up of more than 30 indicators that focus on multiple facets of this difficult question.

Twofold Intent

The aim is twofold: to measure student performance and advancement around the country and to show how a host of socioeconomic factors—not just what happens within the K-12 schoolhouse walls—help shape the opportunities for lifelong success state by state.

This year’s two previous editions of Quality Counts sketched out broad national trends in comparing the nation’s school systems and drilled down into the issue of school finance and how that affects school quality. The capstone report of the year incorporates fresh federal assessment data available since January—with adjustments in some grades and rankings—and offers a deeper exploration of what goes into the K-12 Achievement and Chance-for-Success Indexes.

The report also includes analysis from Education Week reporters on the challenges that researchers and policymakers face in deciding how best to capture the elusive picture of student achievement and what states have learned about the value of initiatives aimed at the early-childhood and postsecondary ends of the education spectrum.

As Education Week continues to update and refine its approach to Quality Counts, now in its 22nd year, the editors look forward to your feedback on this three-part annual approach and changes aimed at keeping the report vital for educators, policymakers, and the public.

Related Tags:

In March 2024, Education Week announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.

A version of this article appeared in the September 05, 2018 edition of Education Week as Comparing States on Crucial Pillars of School Quality

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Standards & Accountability What the Research Says More than 1 in 4 69ý Targeted for Improvement, Survey Finds
The new federal findings show schools also continue to struggle with absenteeism.
2 min read
Vector illustration of diverse children, students climbing up on a top of a stack of staggered books.
iStock/Getty
Standards & Accountability Opinion What’s Wrong With Online Credit Recovery? This Teacher Will Tell You
The “whatever it takes” approach to increasing graduation rates ends up deflating the value of a diploma.
5 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Standards & Accountability Why a Judge Stopped Texas from Issuing A-F School Ratings
Districts argued the new metric would make it appear as if schools have worsened—even though outcomes have actually improved in many cases.
2 min read
Laura BakerEducation Week via Canva  (1)
Canva
Standards & Accountability Why These Districts Are Suing to Stop Release of A-F School Ratings
A change in how schools will be graded has prompted legal action from about a dozen school districts in Texas.
4 min read
Handwritten red letter grades cover a blue illustration of a classic brick school building.
Laura Baker, Canva