State Board Moves Forward With New A-F System

The State Board of Education voted to move forward with a new A-F grading system that will factor in student growth on the state’s assessment rather than just the number of students who pass the test.

Currently, A-F grades for elementary and middle schools are mainly calculated using the passing rate from the ISTEP+. But an overhaul of the school grading system last year made student growth on the test a bigger part of the calculation.

The SBOE’s vote Wednesday decided the technical aspects of how to calculate growth into the overall school calculation. The options the board chose from are available to view here, and they voted to utilize Table 24. This is open for public comment for 30 days and they will officially vote on the method at the April 15 meeting.