Check out this conclusion from William Sanders of SAS about the distortion that occurs when adjusting for socioeconomic status of students. Sanders made the comments to Wake school board members yesterday. (emphasis is mine)
SAS responded by saying Wake’s program makes statistical adjustments based on poor students not being expected not to do as well as affluent students. The report found it can result in inequities in opportunities.
“You’re not really treating the children as individuals,” William Sanders, senior director of the SAS EVAAS division, told school board members on Tuesday. “You don’t unwittingly want to be setting different expectations for students. That’s what happens when you adjust for socioeconomic status.”
The report noted that qualified black and Hispanic students were far less likely than their white peers to take Algebra I in eighth grade. Only 40 percent of black and Hispanic students who were ready to enroll in Algebra I in eighth grade were taking the course compared to nearly 60 percent of white students.
In his blog summarizing the meeting, News & Observer reporter Keung Hui offers additional explanation about what occurred and what Sanders said. (emphasis is mine)
There was very little discussion of the SAS report itself during the presentation to the board. It may be a result of Wake now using the program more than before.
The closest it came to the report was when board member Anne McLaurin asked about SAS questioning the statistical adjustments for poverty level that Wake makes in its Effectiveness Index.
Sanders gave the example of a student from an impoverished home and another from an affluent home who have exactly the same academic history. He said adjusting for socioeconomic status would show that the impoverished child is doing better than he actually is performing.
