School Quality Measures

SQM moves beyond test scores to reimagine how we understand and measure school quality. By drawing on a broad set of indicators that reflect school culture, student opportunity to learn, and social-emotional outcomes, SQM reflects the full range of what schools do. Just as importantly, SQM offers tools and practices designed to foster deeper understandings of school performance. Rather than offering summative evaluations of schools, SQM promotes inquiry and reflection about areas of strength and areas for growth.

Traditional measurement and accountability systems, which rely chiefly on standardized tests, have been plagued by a host of unintended consequences like teaching-to-the-test and the narrowing of educational aims. Moreover, such systems have been largely ineffective at advancing equity and supporting the work of school improvement. By offering a fuller picture of schools, and by creating opportunities to better understand school performance, SQM takes a whole new approach to data use.

Aligning assessment with public values

The SQM approach includes a wide range of indicators aligned with the domains of school quality that Americans value and that research supports. By assessing the many things that schools do, the SQM system seeks to honor and sustain the full mission of public schools.

Drawing on multiple measures of school quality

SQM includes 34 indicators of school quality, seeking to paint a more accurate and valid picture of school performance. By using multiple measures, SQM moves beyond the narrow and overly simplistic notion of “good” and “bad” schools that shapes public opinion and public policy.

Breaking the link between school measurement and social inequity

As research illustrates, student standardized test scores often indicate far more about out-of-school variables like family income than they do anything about actual school performance. As a result, schools serving marginalized and minoritized students are frequently misclassified as “bad” schools. SQM seeks to break the relationship between school quality measurement and social inequality by offering an approach to assessment that does not simply reflect demography.

Embracing human decision making

SQM encourages inclusive, democratic deliberation and is rooted in the belief that educators and community members should be empowered to make meaningful decisions about their schools. In addition to support for assembling a clearer portrait of school performance, SQM also works with educators and community members to make sense of data.