West Virginia public schools students get letter grades based on their performance and now the schools themselves are also going to be graded in a similar manner. The state Board of Education voted last week to approve and update a new accountability program that will assign each school an A-F letter grade.
The grade will be based on a series of criteria including how many students can demonstrate proficiency in English/language arts and math, how much students improve in those areas–particularly the lowest achieving students–and graduation rates (for high schools).
State Board of Education president Mike Green says the goal is to communicate accountability in a way that’s easily understood by parents and communities. “This is not a punitive system, but rather a means of empowering our communities and arming them with data and strategies for continuous school improvement.”
Not everyone sees it that way. West Virginia Education Association president Dale Lee presented to the state board a stack of petitions with signatures by teachers opposed to the grading system. “This unnecessary program will perpetuate the idea that many of our public schools are failing, even though that’s not the case,” Lee said.
“I don’t mind letting schools know how they are stacking up, but we have schools where 60 percent of the kids don’t live with a biological parent,” Lee said. “All of those factors need to be involved.”
The concern expressed by some teachers and school administrators is understandable—who wants to get a “D” or “F” grade—but it’s overwrought. A poor grade for a school is an assessment that forms a basis for improvement, just as it does with a student. And the state Board of Education pledges to work with underperforming schools to get better.
“The State Board of Education’s primary goal is to see that support and resources are provided to the underperforming schools to assist them in improvement efforts,” Green said.
Additionally, the people who pay the taxes that support the schools have a right to know how those schools are doing; schools with “A” and “B” grades can receive public recognition for success while community leaders will hopefully rally around less successful schools to help them get better.
Under this new grading system, the county gets the first opportunity to improve the failing school—one year for an “F” school and two years for a “D” school. If there is no advancement, the state will provide additional help.
Accountability, whether it’s a third grader taking a spelling test or a CEO trying to keep his company profitable, is necessary in life. We need to know how we are doing compared with our peers and where we can improve, otherwise we relegate ourselves to mediocrity.
Public schools should not be any different. A fair and accurate grading system can be used to recognize success and identify schools that need intervention and support.