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West Broward’s Shayina Green scores over Douglas’ Brooke Stoddard during the second half of their Class 8A regional semifinal game. (Michael Laughlin, Sun Sentinel)

By Gary Curreri, Sun Sentinel Correspondent

PARKLAND — Colleen Chatfield scored a game-high 15 points to lead three Bobcats in double figures as West Broward advanced to the team’s first Class 8A girls basketball regional final in the school’s history with a 49-45 victory over host Douglas on Tuesday night.

West Broward (18-3) rallied from a 16-8 first quarter deficit as Shayina Green scored six of her 12 points in the third quarter as the Bobcats outscored Douglas, 11-3 in the quarter. Tiana Perez added 11 points for West Broward who will Palm Beach Central pn Satruday.

Douglas (23-3) led for the last time at 45-44 when Dani Lifshitz banked in a 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining in the game. West Broward’s Green scored inside with 1:40 left to give the Bobcats the lead for good at 46-45. Chatfield made two free throws and Kelsey Angus converted one of two free throws to ice the game with 4.3 seconds left.

West Broward coach Marquita Adley said her team took its lumps in a fall league losing every game by 30 points. She said her team had a different intensity at practice since and has benefited from scrimmaging the boys’ team at the school. West Broward had never won a district playoff game before this season.

“We get beat down in practice, but we have been able to beat up on our opponents,” said Green, who also pulled down 17 rebounds and dished out three assists. “We want this like no one else because we didn’t have this last year. We can go all the way and win state.”

Rashawna Mogent had 13 points for the Eagles, while Deja Enos and Lifshitz scored 12 and 10 points respectively.

“If we could have made our free throws and layups it would have been a different story,” said Douglas coach Larry Moore, whose team was 15 for 23 from the line, including four misses in the closing 17 seconds.

 

Over the course of six years Claremont McKenna College lied about its incoming students SAT scores, inflating them by 10-20 points. When administrators discovered the problem, the ramifications were serious. They may become even more serious. This is despite the fact that the actual deception was pretty meaningless.

As I wrote earlier in the week the financial planning magazine Kiplingers has dropped Claremont McKenna College from its prominent Best Values in Liberal Arts Colleges list. U.S. News also plans to recalculate its rakings due to the Claremont deception.

But, according to Daniel de Vise, its not just the rankings the school needs to worry about. As he writes in the Washington Post:

This apparently went on for several years. And that presumably means inflated SAT data were sent to the Education Department, which publishes consumer-oriented college data on its College Navigator site.

Bad data must also have been included in Claremont McKennas periodic internal review documents, submitted to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges to support its case for academic accreditation. Accreditation is the regulatory lifeblood of a college.

As he explains:

Dropping the school from the list is about the worst penalty a ranker can inflict on a college. What about Claremont McKennas accreditor? What about the Department of Education? Claremont McKenna must have reported inaccurate SAT numbers to them, too. Either of those agencies could conceivably inflict real penalties such as suspension of accreditation, or of student aid on a school that breaks the rules.

As he points out though, its not clear that the SAT lies were symptomatic of any larger structural problem, or even plan of deception at the school. It appears that one admissions officer, Richard Vos, was responsible for the whole thing.

But then, whats really so odd about all this is why Vos even bothered. A 10 or 20 point difference is, as de Vise points out the equivalent or answering one or two more questions correctly on the test. Why?

Well it may sound ridiculous from the outside, but a 15 point difference in SAT scores, students moving from the 94th to the 95th percentile, is very much the sort of thing on which an academic admissions officer is evaluated.

Perhaps thats the problem.

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NBC News Rehema Ellis has a segment on the much-improved Louisiana high school graduation rate

Parents are able to find out how their childrens school has performed in exams relative to local and national averages

A newly updated Scottish government website indicates that pupils in East Renfrewshire have the best chance of leaving school with good exam results.

The postcode-searchable tool showed that 55% of teenagers studying in the council area stayed on at school and secured three or more Highers.

In East Lothian, where there is a similar demographic, 27% of pupils secured three or more Highers.

The special website can search independent, state and special schools.

Schools in the East Renfrewshire Council area have had a long-held reputation for delivering the best exam results in the country.

Its education convener, Councillor Alan Lafferty, said: “The performance of our schools right across the board is cause for celebration. They have delivered for yet another year with superb results and are an inspiration to us all.”

He added that the approach of the council – which has 9.7% of pupils claiming free school meals – was to focus on the “needs of every individual pupil” and to “direct our attention and expertise on encouraging each to achieve their potential”.

Mr Lafferty put the results down to dedication, hard work and partnership between schools, pupils, parents and the education service.

On the east coast of the country, East Lothian Council – which has 9.5% of pupils claiming free school meals – saw 27% of pupils secure three or more Highers, a figure just above the national average of 26%.

A council spokesman explained that the indicator it used to measure exam success was the “cumulative attainment” of three or more Highers at the end of sixth year, which currently stands at 39%. That compares with a Scottish average of 35%.

The spokesman added: “Of course, East Lothian Council will continue to work closely with school staff, parents and the wider community to improve educational attainment in all of its schools.”

Local authority % S4, 5+ Standard Grades % Passing 3+Highers

Aberdeen

75

27

Aberdeenshire

82

29

Angus

78

25

Argyll and Bute

79

27

Clackmannanshire

76

20

Dumfries and Galloway

80

24

Dundee City

70

18

East Ayrshire

74

19

East Dunbartonshire

92

45

East Lothian

82

27

East Renfrewshire

88

55

City of Edinburgh

77

28

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

86

27

Falkirk

80

24

Fife

76

23

Glasgow City

72

16

Highland

82

27

Inverclyde

82

26

Midlothian

77

22

Moray

81

22

North Ayrshire

74

20

North Lanarkshire

77

22

Orkney

84

30

Perth and Kinross

81

31

Renfrewshire

81

26

Scottish Borders

80

29

Shetland

88

27

South Ayrshire

80

30

South Lanarkshire

77

26

Stirling

79

34

West Dunbartonshire

76

21

West Lothian

78

23