While I think setting the minimum grade to 50 is a ham-fisted solution (with lots of obvious side effects), I assume the mechanical problem they are trying to solve is the degree to which a missed assignment is catastrophic to the final grade (the "equity" angle being kids in less advantaged situations are more likely to miss assignments due to factors outside of their control).
I personally would probably have suggested something like drop the lowest N grades, or weight homework less.
Agreed, and many teachers already allow students to drop their worst assignment scores. Of course, it's not standard from teacher to teacher or school to school.
This isn't right " They all had to take the same Lowell Admission Test (called the Terra Nova test) every year from at least 2001 until 2017"
The old California Standardized tests pre SBAC were used, these were based on Terra Nova but it was a separate 7th grade California Standardized (aka STAR testing) tests the public schools took which privates did not. In the spring of 2016 (class of 2020) didn't have the CSTs and they were field testing the SBAC so everyone took the Lowell admission test that year.
Once SBAC was in place there was concern that the two tests (Lowell admission and SBAC) were not aligned so not fair.
"Seventh and 8th grade report card grades and CST/STAR test results will be used for admissions criteria. Current SFUSD students who have taken the 7th grade STAR test will not be eligible to take the Lowell Admissions Test. Non-SFUSD students or any current student that did not take the 7th grade STAR test in another California public school must sign up to take the Lowell Admissions Test that will be administered at Lowell on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 or Saturday, January 12, 2013. Sign up on the Lowell application form to reserve a space for the test."
Thanks for the correction. I based my statement on two things:
-I have a copy of the Lowell band summary from 2015-16 which only mentions the Terra Nova test (of course the Star test had stopped by 2015-16)
- the marked-up copy of the Lowell assignment policy from 2018 which had the switch to the SBAC.
Clearly, the policy went back and forth depending on whether there was a suitable assessment test to use for public school students. If only we had the data from all those years, it would be a natural experiment for whether taking the same test makes any difference.
Yes. The CSTs were discontinued fall of 2013 ( which was the last year of Algebra I in 8th so the district lied about using that as an exit exam for that group). They were field testing the SBAC when class of 2020 was in 7th grade (2014-15) so they didn't have valid tests. Everyone took the Lowell test the winter of 2016, their 8th grade year (my daughter's year). It was a madhouse.
"But the number of non-district applicants was up 21% since 2019 (708 vs 584), which is hard to explain if Lowell’s prestige has declined." If non-district students are applying to Lowell because they are simply applying to more high schools over all (as is happening with selective colleges) wouldn't yield % go down?
"Given the incompleteness of the data, I hope that SFUSD will release publicly the data it gave to the Chronicle so that it might be possible to form a firmer conclusion. I’m not going to hold my breath, however."
Have you considered asking the Chronicle for the data? In the past I asked the Chronicle for data used in an article and they sent it me.
Have you considered sending an email to publicinfo@sfusd.edu asking for all correspondence and data sent to the Chronicle between 1 Jan 2025 and 11 June 2025?
The district shouldn't be able to claim FERPA exemptions or 'no responsive records' or the usual excuses, because anything they've sent to the Chronicle must cannot be confidential student info.
I recently requested the same Student Success fund information from both DCYF and SFUSD. The response rate and transparency between the two was amazing. DCYF was very transparent and helpful and gave me what I asked for in a timely manner with no nonsense excuses I am used to from SFUSD. I still haven't gotten everything from SFUSD and at this point I don't care.
While I think setting the minimum grade to 50 is a ham-fisted solution (with lots of obvious side effects), I assume the mechanical problem they are trying to solve is the degree to which a missed assignment is catastrophic to the final grade (the "equity" angle being kids in less advantaged situations are more likely to miss assignments due to factors outside of their control).
I personally would probably have suggested something like drop the lowest N grades, or weight homework less.
Agreed, and many teachers already allow students to drop their worst assignment scores. Of course, it's not standard from teacher to teacher or school to school.
This isn't right " They all had to take the same Lowell Admission Test (called the Terra Nova test) every year from at least 2001 until 2017"
The old California Standardized tests pre SBAC were used, these were based on Terra Nova but it was a separate 7th grade California Standardized (aka STAR testing) tests the public schools took which privates did not. In the spring of 2016 (class of 2020) didn't have the CSTs and they were field testing the SBAC so everyone took the Lowell admission test that year.
Once SBAC was in place there was concern that the two tests (Lowell admission and SBAC) were not aligned so not fair.
Here is more about the pre SBAC testing.
https://web.archive.org/web/20130223161643/http://www.sfusd.edu/en/enroll-in-sfusd-schools/enroll-for-next-year/sota-and-lowell/2436.html
"Seventh and 8th grade report card grades and CST/STAR test results will be used for admissions criteria. Current SFUSD students who have taken the 7th grade STAR test will not be eligible to take the Lowell Admissions Test. Non-SFUSD students or any current student that did not take the 7th grade STAR test in another California public school must sign up to take the Lowell Admissions Test that will be administered at Lowell on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 or Saturday, January 12, 2013. Sign up on the Lowell application form to reserve a space for the test."
Thanks for the correction. I based my statement on two things:
-I have a copy of the Lowell band summary from 2015-16 which only mentions the Terra Nova test (of course the Star test had stopped by 2015-16)
- the marked-up copy of the Lowell assignment policy from 2018 which had the switch to the SBAC.
Clearly, the policy went back and forth depending on whether there was a suitable assessment test to use for public school students. If only we had the data from all those years, it would be a natural experiment for whether taking the same test makes any difference.
Yes. The CSTs were discontinued fall of 2013 ( which was the last year of Algebra I in 8th so the district lied about using that as an exit exam for that group). They were field testing the SBAC when class of 2020 was in 7th grade (2014-15) so they didn't have valid tests. Everyone took the Lowell test the winter of 2016, their 8th grade year (my daughter's year). It was a madhouse.
Here is the link to the announcement of the CST discontinued https://web.archive.org/web/20131016203651if_/http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/curriculum-and-standards/files/end-of-year-testing-faq.pdf
"But the number of non-district applicants was up 21% since 2019 (708 vs 584), which is hard to explain if Lowell’s prestige has declined." If non-district students are applying to Lowell because they are simply applying to more high schools over all (as is happening with selective colleges) wouldn't yield % go down?
"Given the incompleteness of the data, I hope that SFUSD will release publicly the data it gave to the Chronicle so that it might be possible to form a firmer conclusion. I’m not going to hold my breath, however."
Have you considered asking the Chronicle for the data? In the past I asked the Chronicle for data used in an article and they sent it me.
Have you considered sending an email to publicinfo@sfusd.edu asking for all correspondence and data sent to the Chronicle between 1 Jan 2025 and 11 June 2025?
The district shouldn't be able to claim FERPA exemptions or 'no responsive records' or the usual excuses, because anything they've sent to the Chronicle must cannot be confidential student info.
I recently requested the same Student Success fund information from both DCYF and SFUSD. The response rate and transparency between the two was amazing. DCYF was very transparent and helpful and gave me what I asked for in a timely manner with no nonsense excuses I am used to from SFUSD. I still haven't gotten everything from SFUSD and at this point I don't care.
They know that most people aren't going to file a writ of mandate (costing $$$) to compel them to comply with the law.