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Every year, the New Hampshire Department of Education releases school test scores. And every year, communities look to see how they rank compared to other schools in the state.
But a New Hampshire researcher has taken a different approach. Rob Toutkoushian is Executive Director for Policy Analysis at the state’s University System. Toutkoushian put high school performance in the context of the wealth and education of the surrounding community.

Speaking with NHPR’s Jon Greenberg, Toutkoushian says -- as others have found before -- an enormous amount of the variation in school performance is due to factors outside the school. But he went further and came up with an alternative ranking of high schools based on whether they are doing a good job in light of the households their students come from.

See the value added rankings here:
http://www.nhpr.org/static/programs/nhtoday/visuals/value_added_rankings...

Mighty Sam McClain grew up in the South. He fled an abusive home at the age of 13, and got into the music business. It's been an up-and-down life with brushes with success and periods of homelessness. Through it all, Mighty Sam has kept singing, kept moving, and kept the faith. His newest CD is "One more Bridge to Cross." www.mightysam.com