As it relates to the gap/rate grade, I would agree that DIB is hamstrung by the small sample size and consistent excellence, neither of which seem a good reason to close DIB. Will the CMS message be you must be big and mediocre (but improving) to be adequate? The logic escapes me…

DIB has about 240 students. A 98.7% proficiency rate means 3 students were not “proficient” on test day. Perhaps this year there will be only two students who score below “proficiency,” in which case CMS will declare the school “improved.” Or maybe four will score below, in which case the school will have “deteriorated.” These judgments are absurd. The numbers are too small to draw any inference at all. Even CMS would agree, I think, that a school with 100% proficiency cannot be expected to “improve.” But statistically speaking, in a population of 240, 99% is the same as 100%. Variation at that level, with such a small population, is meaningless.

I’m also struck by the declaration that a school that is 67% white, 33% non-white (including 20% African-American) is not “distinctly diverse.” Have these people never been to Davidson? Bailey Middle School is 77% white (10% African-American). Davidson Elementary is 86% white; Cornelius Elementary is 72% white. In the context of Davidson and Cornelius, DIB is not only distinctly diverse, it is extraordinarily diverse.

There may be good arguments for moving the program, but the CMS PowerPoint is not making them.