SchoolMatch - Analyzing Nashua Schools

By David Solomon
Executive Editor, The Telegraph

The Telegraph in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations, recently completed a 32-page report card on the Nashua school system that was more than a year and a half in the making. The process, working with the SchoolMatch consulting group, based in Ohio, provided a candid analysis of the quality of the local school system in light of the substantial investment made by taxpayers and included recommendations for improvement.

The SchoolMatch process is so valuable to communities that are serious about the quality of the education because it creates an objective and balanced comparison from which to make policy decisions. Communities are fond of creating what they call report cards on their school systems, but too often they use statistics from other school systems in the same state for comparison. That usually results in apples-to-oranges information because wealthier, more homogenous communities always fare better.

SchoolMatch, on the other hand, provides a way for communities to compare their school districts with other school districts across the nation that share a similar profile in average household income, education of parents, English as a second language, subsidized school lunches and other demographic criteria.

When school officials are taken to task for poor performance compared to other schools in the state, they often point to demographic factors. But if other schools with the same demographic profile are achieving at higher levels, there’s no place to look but inward.

The audit process started with a perception survey of parents, teachers and administrators to establish a benchmark. After that came a lengthy number-crunching process in which the school department provided information on dropout rates, test scores, teacher and student attendance, advanced placement rates, and many other factors.

The information-gathering was followed by on-site visits with SchoolMatch consultants, and the preparation of the final report. In May, the sponsors hosted public forums at which the results were unveiled, and The Telegraph published a special section detailing the findings and recommendations.
The audit produced commendations — areas in which the school district did better than other, like districts — and recommendations — areas in which the district did not do as well.

Nashua received 16 commendations, including the performance of students in advanced placement programs, quality of its new high school buildings, low rate of teacher absences, competitive grading practices and attention to students with special needs.
Nashua received nine recommendations for improvement, including the district’s high dropout rate, use of anonymous comments by students in teacher evaluations, lack of faculty involvement in curriculum development, low reading scores, poor communication within the district, and micromanagement by the school board. The district was also urged to eliminate the least challenging courses offered to students at the high school level.
Jonathan Van Fleet, education writer for The Telegraph, spent much of the year reporting on the process and its findings, culminating in the tabloid special section that included many interviews, profiles and independent analysis to supplement the SchoolMatch data.

The process cost approximately $50,000, with $20,000 invested by the newspaper and the charitable trust of its owners. Sponsors at the $5,000 level included the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, the Nashua division of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the United Way of Greater Nashua and Oracle Corporation. Other contributors at various levels included local hospitals, corporations and private donors.
Considering the substantial tax investment made recently in Nashua’s two new high schools and renovations and upgrades to one of the City’s Junior High Schools, and the critical need for a well-educated workforce for chamber members, this was a timely and necessary effort. To view a copy of this report please visit the Chamber at 151 Main Street in Downtown Nashua.