The Georgia Senate approved Senate Bill 420 which is an amendment to part of the Official Code Georgia.  The bill relates to the accountability assessment for K-12 education.  The passage of the bill further degrades education and Georgia, and applies punitive measures to further humiliate and disregard educators in the state.  The 5-Star evaluation of each school and district, and a numerical score for each school’s student performance indicators is  simplistic for such a complex system as K-12 education.  What are these “senators” thinking?

Here are some details.

The bill outlines new accountability standards that would mean each school would be “graded” on quality of learning by students, financial efficiency, and school climate.  The key features of the Senate Bill include:

• provide for individual school and school system numerical score ratings based on student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress;
• to require that a letter grade be assigned to each school and school system and included on school and school system report cards;
• to revise provisions relating to awards and interventions

5-Star Quality Rated Schools

The Georgia senate claims that it has established an evaluation report card that will use a 5-Star system.  The 5-Star system is vague, and of course, it will worked out later.  But the idea is to somehow link together a system that will evaluate how schools use their finances, evaluate the school climate, and use a simple numerical scale to grade schools in their efforts to improve academic achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress.  Keep in mind academic performance, gap closure and progress will be based on the CRCT achievement tests administered once a year.

The 5-star system is as follows:

5-star’ schools ranked excellent according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate;

4-star’ schools ranked above average according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate

3-star’ schools ranked satisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate;

2-star’ schools ranked below satisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; or

1-star’ schools ranked failing according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate.

The actual details of the 5-Star rating system is merky.  There is evidence in the bill that the senate wants to determine the relationship between  financial efficiency and student achievement.  Here is a quote from the bill.

Financial efficiency may include an analysis of how federal and state funds spent by local school systems impact student achievement and school improvement, and components used to determine financial efficiency may include actual achievement, resource efficiency, and student participation standardized testing.

This probably makes sense if the bottom line is how much profit the company made during the past quarter or year.  But we are not talking about a company that is based on market-indices such as profit margins.  Instead we are talking about schools, with real students and teachers working together in a learning environment.  Yes, schools should be diligent in terms of how they use funds from Federal and state sources, but there is the notion that the senators want to get blood from a stone.

In a large study of resource allocation practices and student achievement, Boyer, Clark and Patrick investigated 21 Texas school districts.  The findings are interesting in the light of the Georgia legislature’s desire to manipulate school funding and student achievement.  Three overall policy implications from their research are as follows:

The Report Card

The Georgia senators also have mandated that the Georgia Department of Education will annually calculate a score on a scale of 0 – 100 based on quality indicators of learning including student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress.  Each schools’ and districts’ report cards will be available to parents, educators, and the press.

The report card shall include performance data on quality of learning, financial efficiency, and school climate as “calculated” pursuant to Code Section 20 -14-33, and based on the most current data available disaggregated by student groups.   Here is the deal:

Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, the office shall assign a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F, including plus or minus delineations, for each school and school system. Such letter grade shall be derived from the numerical rating score calculated pursuant to Code Section 20-14-33 with a majority of the grade based upon student achievement.

The system that the Senate has acted on is a report card system that does nothing to improve student learning.  Financial reward may be provided to school that demonstrate “greatest improvement.  These rewards will be tied to achievement gap closure, performance in achievement and progress.

Mind you, nothing has been done to provide staff development support, especially for schools with high percentages of struggling learners, and schools with high percentages of free and reduced lunches.

Punitive Measures

The bill also calls for financial rewards to schools that have demonstrated the greatest improvement in achievement gap closure.  Financial awards can also be awarded to schools for performance in student achievement or student progress.  Awards will range from $500 – $2000.

Now keep in mind that research studies that investigated the relationship between student progress and personnel awards does not support the state putting into place such an award for performance system.

It is punitive to use high-stakes tests such as the CRCT to make significant decisions about student performance, let alone grading a school or a district.  The bill is set to move to the Georgia House.

What do you think about grading schools using a numerical system which is then translated into an A B C D or F.