Tennessee Schools To Receive Their Own Report Cards
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The Tennessee Conservative [By Rebecca Scott] –
Report cards are being released in November. But, it’s not the students that will be receiving A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s, and F’s. It’s the schools themselves.
A law passed in 2016 will be put into practice for the first time this month when the Tennessee Department of Education’s annual report card is released.
Previously, schools were rated on a scale of 1 to 4 with a 4 being the most desirable designation. Various factors contributed to the placement on the numerical scale including attendance, achievements and graduation rates, among other things.
The new A through F scale grades schools based on 4 specific areas. According to News Channel 9 out of Chattanooga, those 4 areas are “achievement, growth, a subgroup of the lowest performing 25%, and college and career readiness.”
These areas will be weighted differently depending on whether they are being applied to elementary, middle, or high schools.
Proponents of the new grading scale see the value in highlighting achievements, challenging schools to have more high schoolers earning college credit, and holding schools accountable for academic growth.
They also recognize that there could be economic impacts as relocating families would be drawn to housing in school districts that boast high grades for the schools themselves.
Not only that, but statistically speaking, students who already possess college credit when graduating from high school have a greater chance of completing their degrees or certifications on time and become members of the workforce.
Many conservatives would a agree that turning out well-educated, well-trained, self-sufficient, industrious, healthy members of society is a goal worth pursuing.
Opponents of the new grading scale say that the new system could paint an inaccurate picture of certain schools and demographics.
As Tennessee seeks to be competitive in education, there is hope that this new approach will give a clearer picture, over time, of where schools are progressing and where interventions need to be made.
About the Author: Rebecca Scott is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Rebecca at Rebecca@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
While I understand what they’re trying to achieve here, I sigh. What this will turn into is more pressure on the kids. More test prep, more strict attendance policies (kids can barely stay home when they’re sick now-the attendance policies in Middle TN are out of control) ect. The kids will ultimately be punished for whatever grade the school receives. I’m more disappointed in the public school system every year. Enough already.
Shouldn’t the schools using the “no grade below 50” policy have an adjustment to their score? Maybe an automatic -1 to their score since they are not an apples-to-apples comparison to the schools that actually award the earned scores of students.