"Eighty-three percent of Michigan elementary and middle schools that failed federal achievement standards for at least four years . . . gave themselves As on self-evaluations worth a third of their overall grades" on a statewide assessment system designed to give parents more information about schools, reports the Detroit News. The schools giving themselves high marks include one elementary school that gave itself an A for high-quality facilities despite being closed last year because the school was sinking into the ground. In fact, all but two of Detroit's 212 schools gave themselves As, a remarkable achievement for a fairly troubled urban system. The self-evaluation gives points for all sorts of inputs and process criteria, such as having programs in place to communicate with parents, regardless of whether any communication is actually taking place. Not to belabor the obvious, but this report is a case study of why self-evaluation of school performance is simply insufficient.
"Metro schools pad rankings," by Christine MacDonald, and Brad Heath, Detroit News, August 30, 2004