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Expert sees no evidence that closing lowest-performing schools would benefit students

Empty classroom
Kevin Wong
/
Flickr - http://j.mp/1SPGCl0
In the Lansing State Journal, Smith wrote: "Consistently low-performing schools do need our special attention, but [the] plan seems ill-conceived and unlikely to achieve its goal of substantially improving educational quality for our neediest students."

This week, the Snyder administration’s School Reform Office suggested that it could eventually close schools where students have low rankings on state tests.

Schools that rank in the bottom 5% -- with some exceptions -- would be closed under this plan, which would shutter more than 100 schools from across the state.

In an opinion piece this weekin the Lansing State Journal, John P. Smith III criticized the state’s plans.

Smith is a professor of educational psychology at Michigan State University and he joined Stateside to talk about why he thinks the closing of the schools, and the methodology that led to that decision is flawed.
Listen to the full interview above to hear Smith's concerns with the changes in standardized testing, and what will happen to the students who have their schools close.

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