Working with growth data can be scary

Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System is delivering assessment results to the approximately 100 districts participating in the optional program. Scranton's special projects director responded to requests for data with the following quote, "I'm not really comfortable quoting statistics," he said. "We haven't really learned how to work with the data." This comment suggests that the difficulty of training teachers and administrators to use more sophisticated is likely to be substantial. These comments come from a professional who has dealt with annual test results before. As the project director for the district, he finds them overwhelming. Just imagine how classroom teachers or parents must feel.

Chris