The authors examine a high-stakes assessment system that will assign designation ranks to Illinois schools on the basis of students 'raw scores on the state's achievement tests. The state's own data are analyzed to show that ranks have little to do with actual school performance; 80% of the variance in schools 'test scores is due to factors that teachers can neither control nor change. Designations will generate widespread, large-scale goal displacement in schools; substantially increase educational inequality; and most likely face a court challenge as a "suspect racial classification " under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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