Louisiana’s Fickle 2018 School Grades: “Tougher” Calc Biased Upward for 35 Schools
On November 08, 2018, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) released the much-anticipated and somewhat-dreaded 2017-18 school performance scores.
One of the problems in trying to compare school grades across years involves the changes across years to school grade calculations, including but not limited to changes in tests and the grading scale itself. In some cases, the result has been inflated school grades.
In 2018, however, the grading criteria is supposed to be tougher; that was the word in August 2018. For example, consider this August 07, 2018, piece by KALB.com in Alexandria:
Louisiana schools will no longer be graded on a curve. When school performance scores come out in the fall, the results may be lower.The Advocate reported that there will be changes in the way school performance scores are calculated.Student testing scores, graduation rates and academic growth are all taken into account during calculation.The goal is to get student achievement in Louisiana comparable with other states. The change will cause ‘F’ rated schools to rise and ‘A’ rated schools to drop, according to the advocate. …Before on state assessments students scoring ‘basic’ were proficient. Now the new proficiency level is ‘mastery’. This level gives school districts 100 points toward their performance score, while basic will only give 75 points.
F-rated schools will rise; A-rated schools will drop.
Sounds tougher, doesnt it?
Well, as it turns out, for many schools, the “new” 2018 scoring is tougher than the “old” scoring system used in 2017.
But not for all.
As a matter of fact, for 35 Louisiana schools, the “new,” supposedly tougher, 2018 scoring system produced higher school letter grades than the “old” 2017 formula Continue reading: Louisiana’s Fickle 2018 School Grades: “Tougher” Calc Biased Upward for 35 Schools | deutsch29
