A summary:
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/education/columnists/jbenton/stories/062705dnmetedcol.4b6a3351.html

An abstract and the study itself:
http://www.ncspe.org/readrel.php?set=pub&cat=126

As stated in the post about the ASCI Scores originally, you talk about making it apples to apples. As stated above you point out ways to make both fields apple to apples… but it is all one sided.

Let’s talk about government (which really means yours and my) funding and staff that private education does not have.

Julie, you didn’t answer my questions from the ACSI Scores post. I will re-post them for the third time now. Please answer.

From the ACSI Scores post:

“As it stands now even with its financial handicaps… “apples to bananas”… private schools are out performing government schools. But being a private school user yourself, you know that and I’m wondering why we are here discussing this? Are you dissatisfied with your private school or is this about something bigger?…

…I have some questions, Julie. When you have a challenged student in government school, do they have an Aid that is assigned to them? How many cases can one Aid take? If it depends on the case, break that down for me, please. What if a child is excelling way beyond their years… what would d46 (assuming that you are from d46) do with them? What if they are just really good at Language and normal to challenged in other areas. Then what would they do?”

I also have a new additional question.

Would public schools be WILLING to separate those scores from your mentioned above to compare? My good guess would be NO! Why? It is their leg to always fall back on as you are using now. Until they do that… your aguement is pure speculation.

National Scores Versus ACSI Scores

That was your premise.

Take the National score and subtract:

Any student with extremely low academic performance.
Any student that has failed the most recent grade level.
Any student that has a “present history” of emotional or disciplinary problems.
Any student that has been suspended or expelled.
Any student that has a court record.
Any student that has an identified or probable L.D. (I like that one…”probable” L.D. That’s not too subjective, is it?)

Compare the result to the ACSI school you provided as an example.

If the WCA still comes out 30% better as you say it would, that would support your argument.

So back (once again) to your original premise and the question I ask that goes unanswered over and over and over and over:

You’ve yet to prove that private enterprise can do better with the same sample; only with one that’s highly filtered for success.

Good teachers lead to higher test scores.

Scott Reeder proved bad teachers can’t be fired from government schools leaving bad teachers to teach the children.

Private schools can fire bad teachers leading to better teachers teaching the children.

The logic is simple. The test scores reflect this reality.

The education of all our kids is important. That is why we all should care if government schools are failing to educate our children.

A comparison is in order if one entity produces significantly higher results than the failing entity. This is the way business works; find a successful business and determine best practices then follow them. These best practices can translate into improved performance for the failing entity.

On the other hand, if you only compare one failing entity to another failing entity to see who is doing better, you have accomplished nothing. It’s like finding out who is the soberest drunk in the bar.

Government schools on the other hand have a problem hiring bad teachers. This leaves their students at a disadvantage to those being taught in Private schools. This is a breakdown in the system that causes many parents to abandon the government schools moving their kids to private schools or home schools.

Government schools are failing our children by this allowing the teachers’ unions to make tenure nearly total job protection. Your attacks on Westlake are misplaced. You should be attacking the real problem within the government schools.

Julie said, “When a policy is exclusionary, it is discriminatory. When a policy is exclusionary, it limits diversity. The explanation of “who these kids are” is not the issue; who they aren’t is very clear. Read WCA’s admission policy.”

I have asked this before, but I’ll ask again since you seem to avoid answering it. What do you mean by diversity?

I am also assuming by your statement of private schools being exclusionary is discriminating, you are saying exactly what I claimed you were going to say, i.e. “Government school teacher unions and its supporters love to claim that private schools do not have to accept all comers while they do.” If that is not correct, please explain further. I believe you will have the same argument against Charter Schools. They are public schools and thus also help the government school averages. Is that acceptable to you in testing?

It appears more likely that anything that points to a problem with the education with the government schools, it has to be opposed. A criterion has to be created to make it impossible to compare the 2. This is how bureaucracies work.

Remember the $200 hammers, the $100 screws. These are all examples of how bureaucracy creates definitions/mandates to ensure the results they want and that no adequate comparison can ever be made to question there decision.

With your descriptions about government schools having to accept all students, you have to realize that they have to accept all tenured teachers as well. The students they accept are not the problem, it’s the bad teachers that can’t be fired that are the problem.

A little disjointed, but follow his advocation & link to the right at:
http://westlakechristian.org/AdmPAndP.htm
to see the following contradiction from the WCA:
No student will be admitted who:
Shows extremely low academic performance as indicated by a standardized testing program, report cards or the WCA Admissions Assessment Test.
Has failed the most recent grade level prior to application.
Has a “present history” of emotional or disciplinary problems.
Has been suspended or expelled.
Has a court record.
Comes from a non-Christian home – a Christian home being defined as: a home where one or both parents have received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. (1 Cor. 7: 14)
Has an identified or probable L.D. beyond our scope of expertise.
NOTE: We have a deep concern that every Christian child have an opportunity to have a Christian education, but at our present stage of development, we are unable to commit to meet the needs of all students.

If this makes it to post, it will not be directly addressed. See this:
http://educationmatters.us/?p=576