1) A significant increase in the number of Edison school students who scored at or above proficiency levels; 2) An average gain rate that is significantly higher than the gain rates of comparable schools;

3) Evidence that Edison's school design offers a viable solution for meeting NCLB requirements and closing the Achievement Gap.

Specifically, the data in the study show that between 2002 and 2003, Edison students posted an average gain of 6.7 percentage points. This gain rate is more than two times the respective district and state gain rates where those Edison partnership schools are located.

"Last year's gains mark the largest overall average gains that we have experienced as a system. Taking into account every tested grade level, subject, and student, the evidence shows that the vast majority of Edison students and Edison partnership schools have improved student achievement over the past year," said John Chubb, Edison's Chief Education Officer and author of the report.

Located in a diverse set cities and towns in 20 different states, Edison is the only national system of public schools working in partnership with school districts, states, and charter school boards. Therefore, The Sixth Annual Report on School Performance reports on the high stakes tests required by each of these local districts and states. On the basis of average achievement gains at each school across the system, 80 out of 98 school sites-82 percent-are fulfilling their primary mission: raising student achievement.

"I believe our partnership schools are making these historic achievement gains, as a result of our growth and experience as a company. We continue to gain valuable experience, learn from our clients and partners, and achieve a more efficient size and scale," said Chubb. "These gains also represent the effect of maturing support measures. In the first year a school is managed by Edison it often undergoes a shift in educational culture. It is in the next years that real change and achievement can occur."

Looking at Comparable Schools

The Sixth Annual Report on School Performance compares every Edison partnership school to every school within the same district with similar levels of economic disadvantage and ethnicity-factors chosen for their well-known association with student achievement. As a result of this analysis, 390 comparable schools were identified and used in the report.

On average, partnership schools managed by Edison, working within districts where there is at least one comparable school, have improved achievement by 6.7 percentage points from 2002 to 2003. These rates are higher than the rates posted by all other local public schools with similar levels of economic disadvantage and ethnicity. These similar, non-Edison Schools report average gain rates of only 3.6 percentage points from 2002 to 2003.

"The comparable schools analysis provides a powerful answer to the question of how well Edison partnership schools perform in comparison to similar schools in the districts that we work," continued Chubb. "That answer is clear: Edison schools' achievement gains consistently exceed those gains at similar schools in the locales where we are working."

"Over time, these higher rates imply that students in Edison partnership schools are progressing toward state standards or national norms at a faster pace than students in similar schools. An Edison school, for example, might enable the majority of its students to reach proficiency in five years, while a comparable school's students might take many more years to reach proficiency."

Edison's overall average one-year gain rate also compares favorably with data documented in a report recently released by the Council of Great City Schools. Edison serves a student population that is similar in size and demographic makeup to the large urban districts represented by the Council. In its report, Against the Odds IV: A City-by-City Analysis of Student Performance and Achievement Gaps on State Assessments, the Council reveals that last year, the nation's urban students made an overall average one-year gain of 4.0 percentage points. For the same time frame, Edison's overall average one-year gain rate was 6.7 percentage points.

Leaving No Child Behind

The Sixth Annual Report on School Performance shows that Edison partnership schools are taking important steps toward meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Asked to work with twenty-four schools that appear on state NCLB "needs improvement" lists, Edison, working in close partnership with its partners, has improved student achievement by an average one-year gain of 5.5 percentage points. Over the same period of time, the districts and states in which these traditionally low-performing schools are located made average one-year gains of 3.5 and 1.9 percentage points, respectively. NCLB is the demanding federal law requiring every public school in America to test all students in grades three through eight and make "adequate yearly progress" in the percentage of students who are proficient each year.

"The importance of improving achievement in the Edison schools we have been hired to manage that are subject to No Child Left Behind sanctions cannot be overstated. Low-performing schools traditionally left many students without the skills needed to succeed. At the pace they are now improving, these Edison partnership schools will have the vast majority of their students academically proficient within the next several years," said Chubb. "Our 'needs improvement' schools are well positioned to respond to the requirements of NCLB."

Closing the Achievement Gap

Probably the most important education issue facing America today is the persistent gap in achievement between Caucasian students on the one hand and African-American and Hispanic students on the other. The issue is compounded by differences in achievement across economic classes, often overlapping racial and ethnic differences.

While Edison Schools claims no special insights into the causes of the achievement gap or solutions to it, Edison schools are designed to take advantage of what is known about every element of high-achievement schools, for the benefit of all students.

In 2003, an average of 65 percent of students served by Edison partnership schools were African-American-four to five times more in Edison schools than in the general population-Caucasian students represented 13 percent of Edison students, and Hispanic students represented 23 percent. The report examines the one-year gain rates for all Edison schools with 90 percent or more of their students African-American or Hispanic during the 2002-2003 academic year. Together, these schools average one-year gains of 7.2 percentage points -- nearly identical to the rates of gain across all Edison schools.

Since the district and state averages are not based on comparably high percentages of minority students, it is clear that Edison schools with predominantly minority enrollments are gaining at rates that begin to bridge the achievement gap.

"Our data shows that African-American and economically disadvantaged students are making clear, and sometimes spectacular, academic progress in their Edison partnership schools," Chubb said. "The strong and compelling gains that these Edison students have posted suggest that quality schooling can make a meaningful difference for students from any background."

Satisfying Parents

Each year, Edison commissions Harris Interactive to conduct an anonymous, independently administered survey of parents, including one item that asks parents to assess their child's Edison school with letter grades-an A for "excellent" through an F for "failure." The findings show, for the eighth consecutive year, that parents are overwhelmingly satisfied with their Edison schools. A majority of 51 percent gives their schools an A and 34 percent give their schools a B, for a total of 85 percent of parents giving their Edison school an A or a B.

According to an annual Gallup poll, in a similar survey of public school parents nationwide, only 68 percent of parents rated their child's school an A or B. Many more parents gave their Edison school an A grade (51 percent of parents), compared to the national average of 29 percent.

About The Sixth Annual Report on School Performance

The report is a consolidated public record of the performance of Edison partnership schools. To provide as complete a record as possible, this report includes school-by-school profiles of student performance information on every Edison partnership school under Edison management as of the end of the 2002-2003 school year. The school profiles report the achievement history of each school from the year the school came under Edison's management through the 2002-2003 academic year. The achievement data in the report is publicly available on the websites of most state departments of education. The data sources for each individual school are noted in the Appendices. ###

Click Here to Download a Complete Version of the Sixth Annual Report

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