The boys that run the Gulen-inspired schools like to boast about their fabulous test scores and  college acceptance rates. But an organization --  CASILIPS -- did an investigation into their testing scores and acceptance  rates, and other claims,  and the results were quite different.

Here are some of the highlights --  for the complete analysis, go to the website below:

1.     Overall, schools’ status deteriorated from 2008-09 to 2009-10 school years In 2008-09, Concept Schools operated 11 charter schools (Horizon, Noble) in Ohio: 6 schools – Continuous improvement 2 schools – Effective 3 schools – Excellent In 2009-10, Concept Schools operated 16 charter schools (Horizon, Noble) in Ohio: 1 school - Academic emergency 5 schools - Academic watch 5 schools - Continuous improvement 2 schools - Effective 2 schools - Excellent 1 school - Excellent with distinction Source: Ohio Department of Education website, accessed Feb 2011

2.     Part 2. A closer look at“100% graduation rates”

3.     School claims 100% graduation rate• “Needles in a Haystack” report of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, May 2010: “The Horizon High School [Cleveland], into which most of the middle school students matriculate, boasts 100 percent graduation and 90 percent college-acceptance rates.”• From education.com website: "The Horizon Science Academy Columbus School District had a grades 9- 12 dropout rate of 1% in 2008. The national grades 9-12 dropout rate in 2007 was 4.4%."• Official graduation rates from Ohio Department of Education for Horizon Science Academy Cleveland (data for 2009-10 not available yet) School year Graduation rate 2008-09 98.4% 2007-08 93.6% 2006-07 92.3%

4.     “100% graduation rate” – yet many 9th graders do not graduate .The first two graphs follow cohorts of students as they moved through the school over a 4-year period from 9th to 12th grade. Even though total high school enrollment  doubled during that period (third graph), the number of students in 12th grade was much less than the number entering 9th grade three years earlier. Many students were not counted because they “voluntarily transferred” to other schools. These students started high school at Horizon Science Academy but did not graduate from Horizon Science Academy. This is the untold story behind the “100% graduation rates” . Source of enrollment data: National Center for Education Statistics

5.     Pattern of entering 9th graders not completing high school repeats in other Concept schools These enrollment figures are for a cohort of students who entered 9th grade in the 2005-06 school year, and are followed over the 4 years they are in high school. Source of data: National Center for Education Statistics

6.     Wisconsin Career Academy• Wisconsin Career Academy’s website says it uses Concept Schools’ curriculum, assessment tools, and student database. WCA teachers attend training events run by Concept. Many other connections can be shown.• Thus, WCA is a de facto “Concept school,” even though WCA is not officially listed on the Concept Schools website as being a “member school.”• The website of the Michigan Association of Public Schools Academies, which includes Concept Schools as a member along with other Michigan charter operators, states that: “With a 100% graduation rate and 94% college acceptance rate, Concept Schools graduates attend prestigious colleges around the country including MIT, OSU, and Case Western Reserve University.” WCA 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Graduation 60.0% 87.8% 80.4% 76.6% rate WCA and MAPSA websites accessed Feb 2011. Sources for graduation rate data: WINSS (Wisconsin Information Network for Successful Schools) and NAPCS (National Association of Public Charter Schools) websites.

7.     Part 3.A closer look at 100% college acceptance rates

8.     Concept: Marketing claims“ Concept Schools grew to manage 19 charter schools in four different states, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan in ten years. Concept is also opening a new school in St. Louis, MO in2010. All the schools implement the same model, which is college prep focusing on math, science, and technology in an environment, where expectations and standards are high and .relationship has high values. Schools have 100% college acceptances. All of them are in urban environment   .Populations of students who come from economically disadvantaged families in the schools vary from 60% to 90%.Eighty percent of their graduates are first college generations in their families.”Source: Concept Schools website, accessed Feb 13, 2011.

9.     CMSA: "100% College Acceptance Rates""This year, all seniors at Chicago Math and Science Academy have graduated and 100%were accepted into college.“Source: 2009 report on the website of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools

10.   CMSA: Claim of preparation for elite universities“ At the Chicago Math and Science Academy, the2008 class attained a 100% college acceptance rate. Students in Concepts‐managed schools are regularly accepted to top‐tiered schools such as MIT, Notre Dame, and the University of Chicago.”Source: charter application submitted by Concept Schools to Peoria Public Schools, Peoria IL, which successfully led to the founding of Quest Charter School.

11.   CMSA: More marketing claims."In 2009, the first graduating senior class experienced 100%college acceptance and were 100% college bound. CMSA is rated one of the top 3 charter schools and non-selective high schools in Chicago. CMSA was also recognized as a "Spotlight School" by the Illinois State Board of Education. This award is given to schools that advocate strong academic achievement despite a low-income status.“This text appears on both the Wikipedia article on CMSA and the Facebook page of CMSA, both accessed Feb 13, 2011.

12.   After examining these marketing claims,it is time to look at some data for CMSA.

13.   Evidence suggests these CMSA students will struggle to complete college• Average 2010 ACT score for CMSA graduates was lower than all but one of the colleges they were admitted to.• This suggests most students are unprepared for the college they are entering.• “Although ACT scores can be highly successful in predicting future success in college, students’ performance on the ACT is largely determined by the courses students take during high school (Paszczyk, 1994), and the high school they attended (Noble et al., 1999).” (Source: The Principals Partnership, Union Pacific Foundation, Research Brief “ACT and College Success”)• Students who are pressured to attend a college that they are unprepared for may experience the worst possible outcome: a burden of high student loan debt, and no degree to show for it.

The link is below:

http://www.slideshare.net/CASILIPS/concept-schools-success-in-education-or-success-in-marketing