Accountability is the word that's usually used to explain why online report cards on schools and school districts are being developed nationwide. Of course federal No Child Left Behind mandates have something to do with it too. Today's technology tip will show you some examples of the kinds of online report cards that are being developed nationwide:
Texas Academic Excellence Indicator System:
This site lets you search for your individual school or district.
California State Accountability Report Card:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sc/ This site offers lots of printable data, such as a 20 page state report. Unfortunately it can be difficult to find results for individual schools.
Of course school districts and state agencies aren't the only ones creating these report cards on our schools. Below are two examples of private websites that offer the data and some analysis as well as opportunities for side by side comparisons of schools.
Great Schools
This non-profit organization in San Francisco, California has an easy to use interface and they allow community reviews to be posted right along side test scores.
Schooldigger.com
As their website says, this is probably "the Web's Easiest and Most Useful K-12 Search and Comparison Tool for Parents." Their data base of over 136,000 schools in the Uinted States is easy to navigate and free.
And this trend isn't isolated to the United States. Here are some links to "School Report Cards" outside the USA:
The Frazier Institute in Canada
Key Stage 3 Performance Test Scores for Schools in and around Sheffield, England:
An Editorial in Australia urging School Report Cards:
