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Prichard pushes the numbers too far, again, Part 2

Education, Transparency and AccountabilityBy Richard Innes December 13, 2012

In any state-to-state education comparison, student demographics matter

In its zeal to portray Kentucky’s public education system in the best possible light, the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence has issued a 2012 update to its on-going “Top 20 by 2020” reports.

But, Prichard still doesn’t get this right. Prichard simply ignores advice, readily available in all federal National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report cards since 2005, that comparison of NAEP scores from state to state should consider differing student demographics and exclusion rates.

It’s not hard to understand why Prichard ignores that advice.

Consider the case of Fourth Grade NAEP Math. If we look at the officially published NAEP Scale Scores for California and Kentucky for 2011, Kentucky beats California by a statistically significant seven points.

But, California’s public schools are only 25 percent white, while Kentucky’s remain very white at 84 percent. And, whites score much higher in both states than either blacks or Hispanics do.

So, what happens to California’s overall NAEP score if we simply level the playing field by weighting California’s NAEP scores for the different races’ using the demographic makeup of Kentucky’s schools?

The answer is astonishing.

Instead of scoring seven points behind Kentucky, California would outscore us by seven points if that state had the same student racial demographics.

California’s educators have no control over the current immigration situation, which has flooded their schools with lots of lower-scoring minority students. And, as you can see by clicking the “Read more” link below, California has actually made amazing progress with all its significant student racial groups despite the Tsunami of non-white students that have engulfed the schools there. But, you can’t see that if you only look at the overall student scores.

One more thing – the NAEP Data Explorer shows that the eligibility rate for the federal free and reduced cost lunch program in California’s public schools for the 2011 Grade 4 Math Assessment was 58 percent while Kentucky’s was 55 percent (a difference probably not statistically significant). When we break down the NAEP performance by race for those students who are lunch eligible, Kentucky and California tie for both whites and blacks.

Kentucky’s Hispanics do outscore Hispanics in California, but there may be an unsatisfactory reason for that. Table A-5 in the 2011 NAEP Math Report Card shows an astonishingly high 98 percent of all English language learners in California participated in the NAEP. In Kentucky, a much lower proportion, just 73 percent, were tested. That will certainly inflate Kentucky’s Hispanic scores.

So, let’s not dwell on that old poverty excuse!

And, let’s get this loud and clear! In comparing state-to-state performance with the NAEP – or with any other test like the new Stanford 10 now used in Kentucky as part of the K-PREP system – it is essential to consider the scores disaggregated by race. Otherwise, Kentuckians will get an inflated sense of accomplishment in their schools.

WHAS Coverage of new Blacks Falling Through Gaps report

EducationBy Richard Innes December 12, 2012

WHAS-TV also had great coverage of our press conference with BAEO on Monday

Read the text of the WHAS report here.

Our new report, “Blacks Still Falling Through Gaps, the 2012 Update,” is now on line here.

You can access our first report in this series here.

LG&E upgrade provides new tool to defend against EPA onslaught

EnergyBy Jim Waters December 12, 2012

Louisville Gas and Electric has recently shown another way how the states can battle the ever-encroaching edicts of the Environmental Protection Agency.

We recently wrote how the Bluegrass Institute-sponsored Intrastate Coal and Use Act and the Electricity Freedom Act will prove to be much-needed tools in defending state sovereignty of our energy sector. LG&E provided another one last week when it announced its Mill Creek plant near Louisville will undergo nearly $1 billion of environmental upgrades to decrease sulfur dioxide emissions.

The Mill Creek Plant currently releases emissions considered 90% clean. After the upgrades, the emissions will be 98% clean. Such an upgrade will allow LG&E to continue to use the most efficient source of energy Kentucky has to offer – coal – while also ensuring the environmental safety of neighboring citizens.

This upgrade shows how Kentuckians can balance their own environmental concerns while also taking advantage of Kentucky’s most valuable natural resource. It’s the man-on-the-spot and local knowledge that allows power plants and state officials to determine which of these costly types of investments are worthwhile and which are not, for the well-being of the citizenry.

By the states taking responsibility for their own environmental issues, the EPA has no justification for bureaucratic overreach. Hopefully that lack of justification will stop them.

Surprise, surprise: KRS does not take costs of new hires into account

Reduce Government Spending, Transparency and AccountabilityBy Jim Waters December 11, 2012

If the $34 billion price tag on Kentucky’s public pension crisis weren’t enough for our elected officials to strap on their boots and get to work on some real reform, perhaps the recent news that Kentucky Retirement Sytems’ placement agents pay little to no regard for the price tag on new investment consultants will get their attention.

This report ought to be especially jarring to our hometown politicians because the report comes straight from a trustee who recently left the KRS.

According to Christopher B. Tobe, who served as trustee for KRS from 2008 to 2012, “All of the managers that secretly promised to pay nearly $15 million to placement agents for KRS were not selected by an RFP process,” a process designed to ensure that public pensions are “run for the benefit of taxpayers and beneficiaries, not for the convenience and/or profit of consultants, money managers and pension staff.”

If this story holds up, then the unfortunate reality is that the corruption in Kentucky’s public pension system goes deeper than previously reported – and $34 billion worth of corruption is already pretty darn deep.

Commonsense – and the Government Finance Officers Association – says that the hiring process for a public pension investment manager should prevent corruption and ensure the lowest possible fee for taxpayers. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in public finance to realize that taking bribes in exchange for money manager positions does not fit that category.

Even according to the Report of Independent Counsel to SEC: Placement Agent Abuses at Kentucky Retirement System, “contrary to prudent investment practices for public pensions, KRS does not utilize RFPs seeking competitive bids from prospective money managers. Failure to solicit bids undermines the integrity of public pension contracting. RFPs ensure that contracts for investment management services are competitively bid and that requirements related to such contracts are clearly and publicly stated.”

KRS’ current price tag for their 66 money managers totals over $56 million. At what price tag will the Kentucky legislature take notice?

WAVE-3 TV covers release of our new report on Blacks Still Falling Through Gaps

EducationBy Richard Innes December 11, 2012

Reporters were out in force yesterday for the Bluegrass Institute and Black Alliance for Educational Options press conference were we released our updated report on black versus white achievement gaps in Louisville’s schools.

Catch the press coverage here.

wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather

Read the accompanying text story.

Our new report, “Blacks Still Falling Through Gaps, the 2012 Update,” is now on line.

You can access our first report in this series here.

Prichard pushes the numbers too far, again, Part 1

Education, Transparency and AccountabilityBy Richard Innes December 10, 2012

Furthermore, I just can cheer about Kentucky’s latest available NAEP proficiency rates, shown here along with the earliest available rate and year.

On average, only around one in three students in Kentucky’s public schools scores proficient on the NAEP. That’s nothing to crow about after more than 22 years of education reform.

Based on some of the data in this graph, I would project it taking an awfully long time before we see the proficiency rates we need. For example, in Grade 8 reading, the oldest to newest data trend shows improvement of less than half a point per year. To get to an 80 percent reading proficiency level will take us nearly another century! Maybe Prichard thinks that’s fine, but I don’t.

In the next post, I’ll show you what happens when you look at the NAEP data the way the people who run this program recommend doing.

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