Alabama joining Georgia in controversial world of state report cards

Alabama is joining Georgia in the controversial world of state report cards.

Since 2012, the Georgia Department of Education has used a 100-point scale, called the CCRPI (College and Career Ready Performance Index), to summarize in one measurement the academic performance of its public schools and districts. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement converts those CCRPI numbers into letter grades, A-F, for even easier understanding.

Feb. 1, the Alabama State Department of Education is scheduled to release its inaugural grades for public schools and districts.

Some folks criticize such an approach. They say one number or grade can’t fairly describe a school or district, and they note that Georgia has changed its formula each year, so year-to-year comparisons are unreliable.

Other folks praise such an approach. They say public education needs an accountability system that clearly shows taxpayers how well their dollars are being invested to teach our children and develop our future workforce.

Regardless, such an approach has been the reality in Georgia for six years and, starting next week, will be the reality in Alabama. So here’s a primer to understand the Alabama State Report Card Prototype:

Components

Alabama’s report card comprises accountability indicators measuring academic achievement, academic growth, graduation rate, college and career readiness, and chronic absenteeism.

Academic achievement is determined by the number of students whose scores are proficient on the state’s standardized tests, meaning they are at the “Ready” or “Exceeding” levels.

Academic growth is determined by the number of students who improve their reading and math scores from one year to the next. Growth is categorized as low, average or high. One point is earned for average growth, 1.5 points for high growth.

Graduation rate is determined by the percentage of students who graduate within four or five years of first entering ninth grade.

College and career readiness is determined by the percentage of students in their four-year cohort (with whom they first entered ninth grade) who meet at least one of the seven college-and-career-ready indicators:

▪ Earning a benchmark score in any section of the ACT college entrance exam.

▪ Earning a 3 or greater on an Advanced Placement test.

▪ Earning a 5 or greater on an International Baccalaureate test.

▪ Earning college credit through a dual enrollment course or other postsecondary course.

▪ Earning an industry credential in a career tech course.

▪ Being accepted into the military.

▪ Achieving the “Silver” or “Gold” level on the ACT WorkKeys exam.

Chronic absenteeism is determined by the percentage of students having 15 or more absences in a given school year. Points are awarded based on the percentage of students who aren’t chronically absent.

ALSDE said in its news release, “The new reporting design uses pie and bar charts that are user-friendly to visually explain data instead of complicated charts and tables.”

The report card also displays percentage of students engaged in extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, National Assessment of Educational Progress data, student demographics by subgroup and the faculty’s professional qualifications, ALSDE said.

State’s overall grade

Jan. 11, ALSDE released the state’s overall report card. Alabama’s cumulative grade is a C, barely missing a B, with 79 points on a 100-point scale. Those points were accumulated this way in the formula crunching the accountability indicators:

▪ Academic achievement – 60.27 points, 20 percent of overall score.

▪ Academic growth – 87.86 points, 30 percent of overall score.

▪ Graduation rate – 87 points, 30 percent of overall score.

▪ College and career readiness – 66 points, 10 percent of overall score.

▪ Chronic absenteeism – 17.68 points, 10 percent of overall score.

Rest of timeline

Feb. 1-23, the report cards for schools and districts are released, starting the commenting period, when “the public can weigh-in on the design and what information is or should be included in the Alabama State Report Card,” the news release says.

March 8, the Alabama State Board of Education will review the input during its work session, then vote on whether to adopt the report card during its April meeting. If the state board approves, the prototype will be sent to the U.S. Department of Education for final approval.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Alabama joining Georgia in controversial world of state report cards."