District 200 Responds

District 200 has now responded to our study with a posting on its web site.  The District's response provides no test data that we did not already include in our report, and does not provide any data that supports a conclusion that Hubble students are academically disadvantaged.  It is also silent on our reporting, from the District's own raw test scores - without any adjustment, calculation or computation - that there is no correlation between the scores and the age of the school (that is, newer school does not correlate to higher scores).  The District also has not addressed the issue of differing class sizes at the four middle schools.  This response proves our point:  the District has yet to provide any quantative test data to support its claim that Hubble provides an academically "substandard" environment.

Despite its criticisms of our study, the District advertises on its web site a Standard & Poor's study that, like our study, (1) uses the same two years of data (2003-4 and 2004-5) and (2) uses achievement test results to rank schools.

Briefly responding to the District's main points:

1.  Claim 1:  Hubble demographics don't match those of the elementary schools.  Fact:  The District provides no figures on how many students are diverted from Hubble.  Because the District has chosen to segregate its middle school ESL (English as a second language) students at Monroe, Hubble does not have ESL students.  However, it is still possible to compare because ISAT results exclude most ESL students at the elementary level.  According to the District's web site, the ISAT tests don't test most ESL students (who have been in the progam 3 years or less), and don't test special education students with IEP (individualized education plans).  Thus, those students are already excluded from the ISAT elementary results - yet the ISAT results also show that Hubble ranked #1 in growth.

2.  Claim 2:  Our study is not a cohort study (studying identical students year to year).  Fact:  We disclosed on page 8 of our report, in the caveats section, that we were not conducting a cohort study; there is no cohort data available.

3.  Claim 3:  Our study duplicates the weight of ISAT scores.  Fact:  On the front page of our study, we provide both ISAT and overall data separately.  Both sets of data rank Hubble #1.  Had we used only the "Overall" data, Hubble would have shown even greater growth.

4.  Claim 4:  Two years is insufficient to show a trend.  Fact:  On the front page of our study, we specifically note that our analysis is limited to the two years that are currently available on the District web site.  Ironically, after criticizing us, the District itself spends two pages, with graphs, comparing the same two years of data to each other, claiming a trend based on results over only these two years, without considering demographic differences among schools or differences in class size.  The District is also promoting a Standard & Poor's study that ranks the District based on the same two years.

The Study

The Educate 200 Foundation has released a new study, "Hubble Huskies:  Leading the Pack in Learning."

To view or download a copy of the complete study, including source materials, visit our Download Files page.

District 200 student achievement test results show that Hubble Middle School ranks number one among the four District 200 middle schools in Total Growth, Overall Achievement Growth, and ISAT Growth achieved by its students, based on current (2004-2005) test scores.  Hubble’s success is even more impressive when considering that (1) at 24.7 students Hubble had the largest class size of all four middle schools (almost three students per class more than number two-ranked Franklin at 21.85 students), and (2) Hubble is the largest middle school in the District, with 48 percent more students than Franklin.  The following table shows achievement growth, defined as each middle school’s success in raising the percentage of its students who meet or exceed Illinois learning standards for ISAT and overall achievement, compared with the achievements of their peers at the elementary schools feeding each middle school.

School	Total Growth	Overall Achievement Growth	ISAT Achievement Growth
1. Hubble	+ 3.00	+ 4.45	+ 1.56
2. Franklin	+ 1.96	+ 3.48	+ 0.45
3. Edison	+ 0.74	+ 1.68	– 0.20
4. Monroe	– 7.38	– 9.67	– 5.08

We believe these results, compiled from official District 200 records by the EDUCATE 200 Foundation as part of our recent study described in this report, demonstrate that Hubble truly exemplifies District 200’s mission “to inspire, educate, challenge, and support all students to reach their highest level of learning and personal development.”  We encourage those who have criticized Hubble’s learning environment to take a look at these numbers, and we congratulate the students, staff, and support personnel at Hubble for their achievements.

We especially encourage parents who have expressed concern about the learning environment at Hubble to take pride in the fact that, despite some significant challenges in achievement levels facing some of the elementary schools that feed into Hubble, their Hubble students are thriving.

This page last updated August 16, 2006.