These three figures show many of the schools defined as failing by achievement test scores do much better when they are ranked using less biased measures.

In the far left figure, schools that score in the lowest 20 percent (or bottom quintile) on achievement tests are rated as failing, and signified with red dots.  In the middle figure, which ranks schools by the learning measure, many of the schools once ranked as failing are no longer doing so poorly, as shown by the number of red dots above the failure line.

On the far right, using the impact measure, about 75 percent of the schools ranked as failing by achievement test scores are no longer failing, while some schools that passed by the achievement test measure are now in the bottom quintile, or failing, range.

SOURCE: Sociology of Education journal