Honesty 
  is 
  the 
  best 
  policy 
  

A 
  call 
  for 
  accurate 
  school 
  performance 
  reporting 
  in 
  Denver 
  Public 
  Schools 
  
DATE: 
   
  
TO: 
   
    
  
RE: 
   
    
  

December 
  14, 
  2017 
  
Denver 
  Public 
  Schools 
  Board 
   
  
Correct 
  the 
  SPF 
   
  

We, 
  the 
  undersigned, 
  respectfully 
  call 
  on 
  all 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Denver 
  Public 
  
Schools 
  Board 
  to 
  instruct 
  the 
  Superintendent 
  to 
  immediately 
  issue 
  
corrected 
  School 
  Performance 
  Framework 
  (SPF) 
  data 
  on 
  each 
  elementary 
  
school 
  in 
  the 
  district. 
  
We 
  believe 
  the 
  SPF 
  is 
  a 
  critically 
  important 
  accountability 
  tool, 
  and 
  all 
  
stakeholders—educators, 
  parents, 
  students, 
  and 
  the 
  general 
  public—have 
  
a 
  vested 
  interest 
  to 
  ensure 
  its 
  accuracy 
  and 
  reliability. 
   
  
As 
  recently 
  revealed 
  by 
  the 
  district, 
  there 
  are 
  known 
  Jlaws 
  in 
  the 
  current 
  
formula. 
  The 
  methods 
  used 
  to 
  calculate 
  school 
  scores 
  in 
  the 
  2017 
  SPF 
  
have, 
  as 
  acknowledged 
  in 
  meetings 
  between 
  the 
  superintendent 
  and 
  the 
  
undersigned, 
  resulted 
  in 
  inJlated 
  performance 
  rankings. 
  SpeciJically, 
  the 
  
district 
  is 
  signiJicantly 
  overstating 
  literacy 
  gains, 
  which 
  distorts 
  overall 
  
academic 
  performance 
  across 
  all 
  elementary 
  schools. 
  
Parents 
  rely 
  on 
  the 
  accuracy 
  of 
  the 
  district’s 
  school 
  rating 
  system, 
  and 
  
providing 
  anything 
  short 
  of 
  that 
  is 
  simply 
  unacceptable. 
  
We 
  are 
  committed 
  to 
  working 
  with 
  DPS 
  on 
  solutions, 
  and 
  we 
  welcome 
  a 
  
broader 
  community 
  conversation 
  to 
  ensure 
  the 
  SPF 
  is 
  a 
  fully 
  reliable 
  and 
  
enduring 
  public 
  accountability 
  tool 
  into 
  the 
  future. 
   
  
Most 
  immediately, 
  however, 
  we 
  call 
  for 
  correction 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  literacy 
  
measure—which 
  inJlates 
  and 
  misrepresents 
  the 
  performance 
  
improvements 
  at 
  several 
  schools. 
  We 
  call 
  for 
  this 
  correction 
  to 
  be 
  made 
  
before 
  the 
  school 
  choice 
  window 
  opens 
  in 
  January 
  and 
  parents 
  select 
  
schools 
  for 
  their 
  children 
  based 
  on 
  Jlawed 
  data. 
  
The 
  corrected 
  information 
  must 
  be 
  properly 
  communicated 
  to 
  every 
  
family 
  in 
  DPS 
  to 
  provide 
  public 
  conJidence 
  that 
  Denver’s 
  SPF 
  is 
  a 
  reliable 
  
tool 
  to 
  inform 
  school 
  choice 
  decisions. 
  
We 
  call 
  on 
  the 
  Denver 
  Public 
  Schools 
  Board 
  and 
  Superintendent 
  to 
  re-­‐
issue 
  corrected 
  2017 
  school 
  performance 
  results 
  for 
  all 
  affected 
  schools 
  to 
  
ensure 
  parents 
  have 
  honest 
  information 
  to 
  choose 
  the 
  schools 
  that 
  are 
  
best 
  for 
  their 
  students. 
   
  
Sincerely, 
   
  
Sean 
  Bradley, 
  Urban 
  League 
  of 
  Metropolitan 
  Denver 
  
Dr. 
  Joyce 
  Brooks, 
  NAACP 
  Denver 
  Branch 
  
Papa 
  Dia, 
  African 
  Leadership 
  Group 
   
  
Meghan 
  Carrier, 
  Together 
  Colorado 
  
Dr. 
  Jeriod 
  Patterson, 
  Alpha 
  Phi 
  Alpha, 
  Inc. 
   
  
Ricardo 
  Martinez, 
  Padres 
  & 
  Jóvenes 
  Unidos