Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Grading Schools

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Grading Schools:


Grading Schools

Over at the Times there's this article reporting that Republicans in the State Senate are sponsoring a bill to assign a letter grade - A-F - to every public school based on outcomes from standardized testing and "other measures."

High schools also would be graded by graduation rate, SAT scores and AP course participation. 

Details:

Schools that earn “A” grades would be eligible for teacher bonuses and get more control over the money the state allocates to them.

The bill is sponsored by Senate education Chairman Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island.

I'll have to go over this bill to get more details but, as we all know,


Tuesday Open Thread

I note the passing of TJ Vassar, a former member of the Seattle School Board in the early '80s.  From the Times article, he is described as a "pioneering African-American educator" who taught at Lakeside.  He served two terms on the Board and, at 30, was the youngest person ever elected to that body.

Among other accomplishments, he helped win reparations for Japanese-American secretaries who had been forced to quit their jobs at Seattle Public Schools during World War II. 

During his years as an administrator there, Lakeside became one of the most diverse elite private schools in the country, Noe said. Today, students of color make up 51 percent of its enrollment, and “he did it,” Noe said.

What's on your mind?