The relationships among factors reported on report cards developed for local school districts in Tennessee and how they related to student outcomes were studied. The study revealed few, if any, straight-line relationships between inputs and outputs reported. Report cards are vastly overrated as indicators of educational quality. (SLD)

Data from the 1990-91 Tennessee school district report cards are used to reexamine some relationships noted in previous studies (G. C. Bobbett and others, 1992) and to gain new insights because of modifications to Tennessee's report cards from 1989 to 1991. Report cards now report the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment results and have added more…