The principal of a public elementary school complained bitterly when his school was included on a list of the fifty most academically troubled in the state. "Look around," he told reporters. "There's no graffiti in the hallways; no one is selling drugs; and math and reading scores have been going up for every grade except the fifth. Everyone on the staff here thinks it's very unfair, especially when you consider that this school didn't even have the lowest fifth-grade achievement scores in the city."
Based on the passage above, the principal most likely believes which one of the following?