All public schools in North Carolina receive an annual grade, A-F, from NC DPI. School Report Cards should not be confused with the individual student report cards that parents receive from their schools. School Report Cards are how DPI grades our SCHOOLS, not our STUDENTS. Recently these report cards have been the subject of legislative action as follows.
Grade Scale change:
* Great news: A change is not actually being proposed to the School Report Card grading scale! Schools have been graded on a 15-point scale and the current bill before the legislature concerning School Report Cards proposes that it stays that way.
* School Report Card grades are determined solely by measuring 80% proficiency and 20% growth. But remember that there is so much good happening in schools that is never reflected in these two measures.
* The data collected year to year has consistently shown one major correlation in School Report Card grades: Schools with a D or F have a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students (poverty) and those with an A or B do not. Thus it is fair to say that School Report Card grades for schools are more a measure of poverty than they are a measure of the actual work happening inside our schools.
If you have something positive to share about your school, maybe something NOT measured by School Report Cards, let us know! We love to celebrate those important accomplishments through our social media outlets.
Low Performing Schools Definition change:
*Currently, D schools who make growth are still considered low performing schools.
* If a proposed bill passes, schools that have a D report card grade will not be considered low performing if they meet the growth requirement.
* Currently, there are schools that do not meet growth, but still qualify as an A or B school.
* School report card grades are determined by 80% proficiency (ie…testing that happens on a particular day or days), and 20% growth (the amount of learning their students do over a school year). This disproportional mathematical equation makes it possible for the above situation to occur (a D school to meet growth, and a B school to not meet growth).
