Connecting Dots of ASD Advocacy: Don’t Buy It

Chanda Jefferson, 2015 S.C. biology teacher of the year, advocates for Achievement Schools Districts (ASD) in the state.

The commentary leads readers to SCAchievementSchoolDistrict.org (SCASD).

Jefferson has also blogged at StudentsFirstSC, the state affiliate of StudentsFirst founded by Michelle Rhee.

Please connect the dots.

And Jefferson’s claims of ASD success echoes this initial claim at SCASD:

An Achievement School District has a proven track record in other states of catapulting the bottom 5% of schools into high quality, high performing, neighborhood, public schools.

However, what is that track record in reality (not the edureformer spin-zone)?

Like charter schools in general, the ASD has not performed much different than public schools, according to a 2014 analysis:

My analysis suggests that ASD schools aren’t doing significantly better in terms of student growth than they were before state takeover. In fact, in many cases the schools’ pre-takeover growth outperformed the ASD. These findings have significant implications for the future of the ASD, how we should move forward with continued takeovers, and for future turn-around efforts in general.

From Tennessee to New Orleans to Los Angeles, claims of successful take-over strategies have been discredited, but those take-overs have resulted mostly in disenfranchised children and communities while providing political capital for advocates.

Once you connect the dots of ASD advocacy, the only conclusion you can reach is don’t buy it.