CHARTER: State flunks out

In a June 3rd Press article titled “Too Good To Count?”, we learned that Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy, which in previous years was ranked in the top 100 high schools in the country, suddenly dropped out of the running because the Idaho State Board of Education refused to submit the school’s test results.

Why? According to state board data chief Carson Howell, submitting the results would show a tiny number who scored below proficient, and in the interest of privacy, 10 (more recently five) is the smallest number of students whose scores they would report on.

So it’s OK to tell the local paper that a tiny number of Charter students scored below proficient, but it’s not OK to submit the same information to national rankings firms?

By his statements to the Press, it seems Howell violated the DMC’s own interpretation of the code he used to justify shortchanging hard-working kids.

If Charter is Too Good To Count then Howell is Too Gabby To Comply.

JENNIFER MADDEN

Dalton Gardens