Reading and Math Scores Rise Sharply Across N.Y.; My ltr to the editor

Some incredible numbers on both math and reading for NYC!  Here's an excerpt from the NY Times article (www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/education/24scores.html):

Reading and math scores for New York students in grades three through eight showed extraordinary gains across the state since last year, with particularly striking leaps in the large urban areas, including New York City.

The gains were apparent for nearly every grade tested in both subjects, in some cases with double-digit increases in the percentage of students performing at grade level or above, according to the scores on the annual statewide exams released by education officials on Monday.

The improvements were so substantial that several education experts expressed skepticism, noting that large gains were posted even by cities like Buffalo, whose schools have struggled for years. They also said the statewide results were not in line with the relatively static performance of New York students in the most recent years on federal tests known as the nation’s report card.

In New York City, this year’s results had an added significance for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has staked his legacy on improving the city’s public schools and is likely to use the gains to argue next year that the State Legislature should reauthorize the law giving the mayor control of the schools.

The scores also will affect nearly every level of the system, with teachers and principals eligible for financial bonuses based on test results, and individual schools assigned letter grades based on student improvement.

These great numbers are critical to rebut Diane Ravitch, the teacher unions and other enemies of Bloomberg and Klein's bold reforms, who have pointed to moderate test score gains in prior years as evidence that the reforms weren't working.  I always believed they were, but maintained that it would just take time for it to show up in the scores.  Here is an excerpt of my letter to the editor of Education Next on March 3rd (entire letter is at: http://edreform.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-letter-to-editor-of-education-next.html):

New York City’s school system is an enormous entity, with a budget that will soon approach $20 billion, 77,000 teachers, thousands of bureaucrats and more than 1.1 million students, representing roughly 2% of all U.S. schoolchildren.  Reforming such a monstrosity – especially one so resistant to change – is extraordinarily difficult and time consuming, and quantitative evidence of change can often lag behind the reality of what’s happening on the ground.  Thus, it’s not surprising that just over five years into the reform effort, the statistical evidence, which positive overall, is still mixed.

There are many parallels here with what I do as a professional value investor.  In that realm, each year I look at hundreds of big, bloated companies that had been poorly managed for years.  My success depends on correctly identifying the handful that, usually under new management, are in the process of turning around, even if the results aren’t yet obvious in the numbers.  I think New York City’s public school system is one such situation.