A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia’s Public Schools: From Impressions to Evidence

The National Research Council (NRC) recently completed and released a report entitled A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia’s Public Schools: From Impressions to Evidence. This report, which details the first phase of an evaluation of the District of Columbia’s Public Schools, recommends the establishment of a sustainable system to analyze and guide continuing improvement in the city’s public school system. The George Washington University is glad to have been asked by the Academy to plan the next phases for the development of this initiative and to plan for the development of a consortium on research and evaluation.

As a part of GW’s work this summer, we are inviting parents and community members to offer their views on the direction and related indicators that should be included in an ongoing evaluation of the education reform agenda established by the 2007 PERRA legislation. To determine this information, we are setting up a focus group to be held during the month of July.

During the focus group session, we will ask participants a number of questions, including how they currently learn about school performance in the District of Columbia. We will then seek recommendations on the types of school data that should be gathered and shared with the community as part of an evaluation system.

Our session will be held on the following date:

Focus Group:
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Refreshments: 5:00 – 5:30
Time: 5:30 – 7:00
Location: Early Stages Center
Walker Jones Elementary School
1125 New Jersey Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001

Please contact Taunya Nesin (tnesin@gmail.gwu.edu) to RSVP. Ms. Nesin can respond to related questions.