May 3, 2018

Contact:
Christopher Lubienski, (217) 643-8311, clubiens@iu.edu
Great Lakes Center, (517) 203-2940, greatlakescenter@greatlakescenter.org

Review: Disappointing test score results shift focus of school choice report

EAST LANSING, Mich. (May 3, 2018) — A recent American Enterprise Institute (AEI) report attempted to examine the impact of student achievement scores on longer-term school-related attainment outcomes. The report suggested that less attention be given to test score comparisons between traditional public schools and school choice models (e.g., charters and school vouchers). A new academic review out today investigates the consistency of the claims made and the evidence used for the report.

Reviewers Christopher Lubienski, Indiana University, and T. Jameson Brewer, University of North Georgia, find the report to be based on questionable evidence and of little use to policy makers. The report, Do Impacts on Test Scores Even Matter?, was reviewed for the Think Twice think tank review project. Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), is funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

According to the review, the report is not consistent with previous school choice advocacy papers, and marks a stunning change in school choice policy preferences. The reviewers find that after years of disappointing test score outcomes, school choice advocates are now attempting to move away from test score comparisons with traditional public schools.

In terms of evidence, Lubienski and Brewer find the report to be "riddled with numerous internal inconsistencies in its discussion and treatment of a set of studies that were selected by questionable methods."

They conclude, "In view of the 180-degree turn based on questionable evidence, the report - despite the authors' assertions — is of little use to policymakers."

Find the review on the web:
http://www.greatlakescenter.org

Find Do Impacts on Test Scores Even Matter? here:
http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Do-Impacts-on-Test-Scores-Even-Matter.pdf

Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

You can also find the review on the NEPC website:
http://nepc.colorado.edu

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The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform.

Visit the Great Lakes Center website at http://www.greatlakescenter.org/