LANSING — The difficulty with evaluating school districts has
been in making “apples-to-apples” comparisons to determine
student achievement. For example, Detroit public schools have a
low high school graduation rate and low standardized test
scores. But are these results because of the teachers and
administrators? Or because the students are from low-income
households? The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has released
its Michigan Public High School Context and Performance Report
Card that examines public high school performance by taking into
account family income, producing an “apples-to-apples”
comparison for parents and policymakers.