This piece originally appeared in the Athens Banner-Herald.

Sometimes I think if I hear the term “college- and career-ready” one more time, I’ll run screaming to another country. For the moment, set aside the argument about the real purposes of education, and look at this issue of college and career readiness, which we claim to assess even for little kids.

In a few days, Georgia schools will get their first round of College and Career Readiness Performance Index data. CCRPI is a complicated set of statistics that will give schools and districts one to five “stars” (how original!) for how they are preparing students to take on the world.

We will get these numbers for the previous school year with about 12 weeks of instructional time left before spring testing season. Halfway through this year, and we get the results for last year. What?

It gets worse. Georgia now has additional surveys of parents, teachers, administrators and students to assess things we know test scores don’t measure. We have the Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0, the Georgia School Personnel Survey and the Georgia Parent Survey. The results of these surveys are not released to the public, just incorporated into the overall statistical mishmash of the CCRPI.

Governor Deal’s suggestion that Georgia “look at” a recovery school district modeled after the one in New Orleans has raised more than a few eyebrows in our state.  Louisiana, where Advanced Placement exam results for 2013 are ahead of only Mississippi, is known more for LSU football and Duck Dynasty than public education..  Higher National Assessment of Educational Progress scores in 2013 still leave the state at the bottom of the national scorecard, and the US Chamber of Commerce report in 2014 graded the state educational system with an A for choice but a D or F in academic achievement, international competitiveness and workforce preparation.  Less than 20% of Louisiana students met Programme for International Student Assessment requirements for reading and math standards, and recent gains in LEAP (Louisiana Educational Assessment Program) and iLEAP (integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program) state tests were due to Louisiana Department of Education manipulation of cut scores and not actual academic achievement.  The number of correct answers on those tests required for a level of “basic” proficiency was reduced in 3 of 4 categories in LEAP testing.  The LDOE said the grading scale was “equated.”  This means the grading scale was adjusted to make it appear that student performance held steady with Common Core aligned tests instead of the dramatic reduction that would have shown up without “equating.”  The vast majority of charters in LA, except for those with a selective admission process, are rated D or F by their own state.  The New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD) that Nathan suggested we emulate was rated as one of the lowest performing districts in the state.