{"id":21187,"date":"2014-01-15T07:59:21","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T12:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=21187"},"modified":"2014-01-15T11:12:08","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T16:12:08","slug":"how-florida-should-modernize-its-school-grading-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2014\/01\/15\/how-florida-should-modernize-its-school-grading-formula\/","title":{"rendered":"How Florida Should Modernize Its School Grading Formula"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Jacksonville Public Education Fund is recommending changes which it thinks will modernize the state school grading formula.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Jacksonville Public Education Fund is recommending changes to the state’s school grading formula<\/a> it believes will make the system fairer, more stable and easier to understand for schools and parents.<\/p>\n

With state schools making the full transition to Common Core language arts, literacy and math standards, the group says Florida should modernize the nation’s oldest school grading formula.<\/p>\n

“Now’s the perfect time to improve the system based on what we’ve learned from the last decade of school grading,” said president Trey Csar.<\/p>\n

Among their recommendations:<\/p>\n

Measure student test score growth over multiple years — Right now the state measure one year of growth. Multiple years would reduce the amount the year-to-year swings that sometimes effect student test results and grades.<\/p>\n

Broaden the score ranges for each letter grade — This would prevent small increases or decreases in school scores from resulting in a change of several letter grades.<\/p>\n

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Limit how often the formula is changed — One possibility is the formula can only be changed during scheduled review periods.<\/p>\n

Distinguish between proficiency and growth on test scores — Low-income schools often have a below-average percentage of students who meet state goals on tests, but those students are making larger gains on test scores. Separating the components would give school leaders a better idea how to assign resources.<\/p>\n

Broaden the formula — This could include adding components such as attendance, discipline or the percentage of highly effective teachers. Doing so would ensure the formula is an accurate measurement of priorities.<\/p>\n

You can read the full report below:<\/p>\n