A system that grades Indiana schools on an A-F scale based on graduation rates and test performance, among other factors, might see some changes, but some Johnson County administrators wonder if those changes are enough.
The Indiana State Board of Education is considering other ways to look at grading the state’s schools, but even if those ideas make it to the proposal stage and are approved, they likely wouldn’t take effect for several months.
One possible change to the state’s grading system for schools would identify students who may be approaching proficiency in a subject, rather than just lumping all students who did not reach proficiency together, said Ron Sandlin, the state board of education’s senior director of school performance and transformation.
At the high school level, student performance on standardized tests isn’t the sole factor in a school’s letter grade. The state also considers graduation rates and college and career readiness. In kindergarten through eighth grade, though, grades are almost solely dependent on student performance on state standardized tests, such as the ILEARN exam, which replaced the ISTEP last year.
When students had trouble adjusting to the new exam, state lawmakers agreed not to hold schools accountable for student performance on the exam, and froze school letter grades. The same happened this year, as students did not take the exam due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, state education leaders are hoping to add criteria for elementary and middle school students that would not make school letter grades so dependent on testing. Ideas include taking into account how many third grade students are reading at an appropriate level for their age, and how many middle school students are taking advanced classes, such as Algebra I, Sandlin said.
Letter grades handed down from the Indiana and U.S. Departments of Education to Indiana public schools can impact not only public perception, but also funding and, in extreme cases, whether a school remains open. When schools receive Ds and Fs, they begin to lose funding, and public schools risk closure or state takeover for persistently low grades.
Changes to the state’s grading system would not include changes to the A-F grading system itself, Sandlin said.
No Johnson County schools are at risk as all received a C or better, but local administrators still want to see changes that go beyond what the board of education is proposing.
Greenwood schools would be better served if lawmakers threw out the A-F grading system altogether when it comes to school performance. Instead, the state should publish data on a variety of metrics, and let parents make judgements for themselves, said Kent DeKoninck, superintendent.
“I do believe having the testing we have in terms of looking at adequate growth and having it be part of schools is fine, but (what I want) is getting away from grades and to display a dashboard of data,” DeKoninck said.
“Show the number of students who’ve made adequate growth according to the testing measure, have graduation rate be a part of it, have suspensions, expulsions or whatever metrics we agree are important, but post those and let parents decide what that ends up looking like and its meaning. To put everything in a letter grade based on standardized testing just doesn’t make sense to adequately show the success of a school.”
Doug Arnold, superintendent of Edinburgh schools, said it would be better for the state to grade schools using a standards-based system, with comments on schools’ strengths and weaknesses rather than just letter grades.
“Some schools, for example, with standards-based report cards, instead of a C in reading, you look at the state standards in reading and it says, ‘You are doing a good job. You had strong phonetic awareness but need to work on spelling,’” Arnold said.
“Just saying a C doesn’t allow you to improve. One thing about standards-based (grading) is it gives you details you need and areas for improvement. It makes a lot of sense for me. I would like to see us use something broader and more inclusive than one letter grade.”
Whatever state education leaders and lawmakers decide, it should be fair and reflect multiple aspects of school performance, said Kimberly Fifer, associate superintendent at Clark-Pleasant schools.
“I want to make sure whatever is decided at the state level has fairness, consistency and equity and that it is user-friendly for our staff,” Fifer said. “I firmly believe in metrics. It would be great to have metrics that the community and parents can look at without a letter grade. We want the results to be fair, equitable and timely so we can use them to make the appropriate instructional changes.”
Although letter grades are here to stay, state education leaders want to make sure parents have access to additional data that can help them in deciding where to send their children to school, Sandlin said.
“Single mothers working two jobs with their kids in school making a decision might not have time to dig into an Excel spreadsheet,” Sandlin said. “This provides clear, transparent and digestible information. Our goal is the state recognizes the concern (of administrators) and we recommend developing a comprehensive dashboard to complement letter grades for families looking for more information that is easily accessible.”
