Tennessee is preparing to assign letter grades to schools across the state, a move that has been years in the making. But, at the last minute, the Department of Education is changing the formula determining how schools are scored.
Both the old and new formulas consider student achievement and growth. But the new one puts more emphasis on test scores, which will account for half of each school’s grade.
The previous calculation also factored in chronic absenteeism and English language proficiency, as well as the graduation rate for high schools.
Courtesy Tennessee Department of Education These charts show the previous plan for grading Tennessee schools on an A-F scale.
The new formula focuses mainly on test scores and growth, with 10% of the schools’ grades based on how much students in the bottom quartile improved their performance. The department will also score high schools on college and career readiness, but that will be weighted less heavily than before.
Courtesy Tennessee Department of Education This table shows the new plan for assigning letter grades to Tennessee schools.
The department presented its plans to the state’s board of education Thursday. Assistant Commissioner of Assessment and Accountability David Laird told the body the new system will give families a better snapshot of how students are performing.
“It is less of a referendum on maybe what the school’s impact has been. But it’s more clearly articulating what their challenge is right now,” Laird said.
Some board members voiced concerns that the new formula could ding schools in underserved communities.
Vice-Chair Darrell Cobbins, whose district includes Memphis, said he’s worried that schools labeled with an “F” will have issues retaining students and quality teachers.
“It’s a struggle for me to think about saying, ‘Everyone should pull themselves up by their bootstraps,’ when some folks have a closet full of boots and some have none,” Cobbins said.
The 2016 law mandating school letter grades requires that the board review the grading system. However, board members do not vote on the formula.
Chalkbeat Tennessee has done a deep dive on school letter grades.
The education department plans to publish the new state report card in December.
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