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Hi, Dennis,

This is very interesting, and very counter-intuitive, which makes me  
curious to look more closely. For example, there is a seeming  
tautology here:


>>
>> A new study examining why similar California schools vary widely in
>> student achievement produced some surprising results: Involved  
>> parents and
>> well-behaved youngsters do not appear to have a major effect on  
>> how well
>> elementary students perform on standardized tests.
>>
>> But four other factors seemed to count a lot more, at least when  
>> combined
>> in schools, according to EdSource, an independent group that  
>> studies state
>> education issues.
>>
>> The study of lower-income schools found that the strongest  
>> elements in
>> high-performing schools are linking lessons closely to state academic
>> standards,

Can this be paraphrased as:  "Students do well on standardized tests  
when teachers teach them how to do well on standardized tests"?

This below is contradictory, I would be curious to see a more  
thorough rationale of the research design:

>>
>> Some of the findings seem to fly in the face of widely held  
>> beliefs that
>> parental involvement is among the most important reasons for school
>> success and that academic achievement depends largely on a family's
>> education and income level.

(snip)
>>
>> The study did not include schools serving largely middle-class or  
>> affluent
>> families, which generally tend to score higher, experts say, in part
>> because well-educated parents are better able to help their children
>> succeed.

Eric Siegel
NY Hall of Science


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