Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

NOLA Report Does Little to Accurately Inform, Review Finds

  • 10/21/15

East Lansing, Mich. — A report published by Public Impact and New Schools for New Orleans attempted to review 10 years of education reforms in post-Katrina New Orleans, and the creation of a “portfolio model.” The report argued that the reform experiment has been an unquestioned success, and other cities should duplicate efforts. However, an academic review of the report finds that the report does little to accurately inform policymakers or practitioners about the current state of public education in New Orleans or the viability of “portfolio” districts.

Adrienne D. Dixson, associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, reviewed Ten Years in New Orleans: Public School Resurgence and the Path Ahead for the Think Twice think tank review project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

Overall, the report lays out a grand vision for the future of public education in New Orleans, which was described by the authors as “America’s first great urban public school system.” It is organized into six themes: governance, schools, talent, equity, community, and funders.

Dixson, whose research focuses on how issues of race, class, and gender intersect and impact educational equity in urban school contexts, found multiple weaknesses that limit the usefulness of the report.

In her review, Dixson highlights that the report exaggerates improvements, while downplaying the ways in which the enacted reforms exacerbated inequities in New Orleans. She also notes that the report erroneously presents the reforms as a result of a logical and apolitical process.

In reviewing the validity of the findings, Dixson says, “The report does not present original or empirical research but bases its claims on advocacy publications that have not been peer-reviewed, and newspaper articles that primarily accept the claims made by vested interest reformers.”

Dixson further finds fault with the data referenced in the report, which has not been made readily available to researchers, community members, or the press, making the claims difficult to verify.

In her conclusion, Dixson highlights the omission of research from the report as a serious concern, “The research that the report excludes tells a different and far more troubling story about the reforms in New Orleans.”

Read the full review at: www.greatlakescenter.org.

Featured

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • Montclair State University Starts Construction on $120M STEM Building

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $120-million Interdisciplinary Science Building, according to university news. The university partnered with HoK Architects for the project’s design, and it’s scheduled to open in time for the 2028–29 academic year.

  • Wold Completes Geothermal Projects at Two Minnesota Schools

    Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has completed two geothermal expansion projects for Mounds View Public Schools in Shoreview, Minn., according to a news release. The work at Highview Middle School and Irondale High School serves the district’s long-term goal of reducing energy costs and dependency on non-renewable fuel sources, as well as improving building performance.

  • University of Pennsylvania Releases Design of Future Physical Sciences Building

    The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Penn., recently released renderings of an upcoming 350,000-square-foot Physical Sciences Building, according to news release. The facility was designed by CO Architects and will unite the university’s departments of Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Science.