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A + School Grade System Fails: New System Proposed
There is a debate about the validity of school grades. There are reasons to think twice about releasing the 2015 results. School grade formulas change regularly, so it is difficult to know whether the grading formula, the characteristics of the student body, and/or statewide test results have the greatest impact on a school grade. The school grade formula will change again this year. In addition, the grading system has a new set of challenges.
What will happen with the new school grade system that calculates achievement gains based on scores from two different tests: FCAT and FSA? Even if the passing standard is equated to ensure the same percentage of students pass, it does not mean that students are proficient on the new standards. It means that school grades will move around until the DOE matches the items with the standards as suggested in the FSA validity study.
I looked at Palm Beach’s school grades over the last five years. Grades in most schools shift from one year to the next. This cannot be due to changes in instruction! Then, I looked at how grades were calculated. Therein ‘lies the rub’.
Testing, When is Enough, Enough?
I wrote this piece as a lead in to the testing forum sponsored by the Gainesville Sun on September 16th. The issues are there. So are some ways to think a little differently about current tests and testing alternatives. The article was published today. It starts like this: “Florida has been using tests to drive instruction for years”. It ends with putting Florida’s legislature to the test. In between are some ways to think about improving our schools. See the article here.
Nathan Crabbe, the Gainesville Sun’s editor, announced a forum on testing to be held on September 16th at 6 p.m. in Pugh Hall on the University of Florida campus. He will moderate a panel that includes Superintendent Owen Roberts, Sue Legg (President Alachua County League of Women Voters, Susan Bowles (Teacher of the Year), and Shan Goff, Foundation for Excellence in Education.
Failure Factories: The Children Tell Their Stories
The latest feature on the Pinellas County Schools neglect of low-income minority schools lets the children tell their stories. Anyone who thinks that these children do not know better and can not do better should listen carefully to what these children say. Promises for help from the district were not kept. Teachers gave up.
What will be done to fix a problem the district helped create. Charters are not to blame; they are nowhere near.
Charters Unconstitutional in Washington State
Late yesterday, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that charter schools were unconstitutional. The lawsuit was brought by the League of Women Voters, the Washington Education Association, and the State District Superintendents. Charters are new to Washington, only a few opened last year. More are scheduled to open this year. There is a twenty day period for response to the ruling.
The basis for the ruling is explained below.
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- League Members visit the office of Senator Marco Rubio
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- League Members wait to see Senator Bill Nelson
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- Education Team at the Department of Education
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