The Indiana State Board of Education approved final A-F letter grades for Indiana schools Friday, even as one board member took a public stand against the rating system.
More than 800 Indiana public schools earned A’s this year, the most since the state started rating schools in 2005. Two-thirds of schools scored either an A or a B.
But State Board member Andrea Neal is convinced those grades have come at a cost. She says she’s worried schools aren’t offering arts and electives because they’re too focused on test scores.
“There’s no incentive for the schools to offer programs that aren’t assessed under the A-F matrix,” Neal said.
Neal was the only State Board member present to vote against issuing the grades.
Even though state superintendent Glenda Ritz voted to approve the ratings, she says there are questions about the formula.
“We’ve had many schools where we have a fluctuation between two, three or four letter grades up or down,” Ritz said.
Ritz adds that shouldn’t be happening year to year. She’s co-leading an effort to redesign Indiana’s A-F accountability system, but it won’t be ready until 2015.
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