Lawmakers moved a bill Tuesday that would improve the formula for how the state’s schools are now awarded A-F letter grades to make them more reflective of how a school helps its students grow academically over time.
There are a number of bills floating around the General Assembly that would change how schools receive letter grades — but the one that would change the formula to 50 percent growth, 50 percent performance, sponsored by Reps. Glazier, Johnson, Lucas and Horn, seems to have gained the most traction.
First unveiled earlier this year, North Carolina’s A-F school grades are, to a large extent, a reflection of how well a school’s student population does on standardized tests on a given day. The formula is currently weighted 80 percent “performance” (how students perform on those tests on one day), and 20 percent “growth” (how students perform on those tests over time).
When the grades were first released in February, a public outcry ensued as they largely tracked the demographics of a school’s population. High poverty schools received mostly Ds and Fs; more affluent-serving schools scored higher.
A-F school grades are the brain child of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Versions of the system have been implemented around the country.
Rep. Glazier (D-Cumberland), a sponsor of HB 803 that moved forward Tuesday, noted that Florida has already tweaked its school grading formula at least 34 times since its inception.
Virginia recently repealed the A-F school grading system.
At least one lawmaker is skeptical that the Senate will take up a fix for the A-F school grades. Stay tuned as the bill makes its way through the General Assembly.
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