(continued from page 3 - What Matters?) Years ago, as I was wading through the morass, I asked a friend at the capitol why there was no recognition or incentive for high operational efficiency among school districts. It seems, I was told, that there is no evidence to suggest that greater operational efficiency correlated with quality of education. As part of this brief analysis I applied the same methodology to understanding the value of operational efficiency. So, we have eighteen characteristics and 185 districts. Then there is the always present question of how rural is different. To observe this, I used the ‘rural’ and ‘town’ designations within the database. This removed 63 ‘urban’ districts from the analysis. Using this statistically significant sample, I set out to try to answer the question, “What really matters?” when it comes to school quality. A brief note on the methodology used. If this stuff bores you, skip to the next paragraph. For each characteristic a rank value was generated. A Pearson correlational coefficient, Pearson’s r, was used to determine the extent to which the rank on the independent variable correlated with the dependent variable -- rank on test score outcomes. A Pearson correlational coefficient generates an outcome between -1 and 1 where 0 is no correlation. The significance of a correlation is completely relative. In the social sciences where relationships between factors are confounded by multitudinous exogenous variables a Pearson’s r of greater than .2 is considered (continued on page 15) Page 5 “Stronger Together!” Health Care Educators for Strong, comprehensive health care that fits your school's budget What if you could offer... The richest benefit plans for Arizona schools. A one-stop shop for all your employee health care needs, including: – Medical/prescription. – Wellness Program. – Dental. – Vision. . – SkinIO™ – Life. – EAP. – COBRA. Innovative member programs, including: – Teladoc® . The strongest national provider network available in Arizona, which may include access to the Banner|Aetna network. This program provides efficient and effective patient care at a more affordable cost. Together, we’re transforming health care in Arizona! ...with ASBAIT, you can! At ASBAIT, we're helping Arizona educators and their families to live healthier lives. Need more information? Contact: FLAGSTAFF Sean Shepard Meritain Health® Regional Vice President, Sales PHOENIX Sean.shepard@meritain.com 1.303.681.1799 TUCSON ASBAIT Trustees ASBAIT Schools www.meritain.com | © 2021–2022 Meritain Health, Inc. Visit asbait.org | @asbaithealth | asbait – Hinge Health.
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