Grading N.C. schools: House wants to change curve

North Carolina's public schools are poised to get letter grades based on this year's results on state exams.  But it's not yet clear how those grades will be assigned.

The bill passed last summer called for 80 percent of a school's score to be based on student proficiency and 20 percent on growth.  The House budget plan introduced Tuesday would flip that.

Proficiency is easy to understand:  It's the percent of students who scored at or above grade level on state exams.  Critics say that doesn't reflect the quality of a school as much as the readiness and motivation of the students who attend.

Growth is a more complicated calculation designed to measure whether students did better or worse than expected based on past performance.  It can recognize a school that's making strides with the most challenged students,  or highlight a school that's not doing enough to stimulate students who are already doing well.  You can look up last year's growth scores here,  and here's an article I wrote about last year's results.

Ranson Middle scored high on growth, low on proficiency

Somehow the combination of those measures will be turned into a score from 0-100.  The original bill sets a 10-point scale:  90 and up is an A,  80 and up a B,  etc.,  with anything below 60 an F.  However,  it sets a 15-point scale for the first year,  with As going as low as 85 and Fs falling below 40.  The House proposal would keep that lower scale moving forward.

The House plan also includes a couple items that will likely be celebrated in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.  Like the governor's budget,  but unlike the Senate's,  it includes almost $1.9 million for six early and middle college high schools,  three of which are in CMS.  They're set to open in August,  and CMS is counting on the money.

It also eliminates the "25 percent plan"  that CMS and many other districts have been fighting.

House Speaker Thom Tillis,  a Mecklenburg Republican who was once an active CMS parent,  said the push to approve a budget before the end of June will help districts plan for the coming year,  something local officials often wish for.  But what will emerge from the speeded-up work to mesh the House and Senate plans remains to be seen.

Grading N.C. schools: A preview

As the state of North Carolina gears up to issue letter grades to schools based on student test scores, the advocacy group CarolinaCAN is rolling out its own version today. The group's report cards label each public school  (including charters)  and school district on an A-F scale,  based on 2012 performance on state exams.

Kowal

As I told Executive Director Julie Kowal after previewing the report,  people are going to love this or hate it.  It's hard not to have a visceral reaction to seeing big red Fs  (for neighborhood schools serving the most impoverished areas and charters serving at-risk students, on my spot check)  and big green As  (often for low-poverty suburban schools and selective magnets).

Spoiler alert:  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools rated Cs and Ds as a district,  while its individual schools rate among the best and the worst.  Ditto for charters in this area.

CarolinaCAN is an offshoot of the Connecticut-based 50CAN, created to promote choice,  accountability and flexibility.  Kowal said the N.C. grades promote transparency while giving parents access to important data in an easy-to-grasp format.  "We designed these for the general public in North Carolina,"  she said, acknowledging that the grades and the data points don't give the full picture of school quality,  let alone a district's performance.

She said the grades highlight overall performance,  achievement gaps and performance of low-income,  African American and Hispanic students,  who tend to lag behind peers.  There are Top 10 lists recognizing schools with the biggest gains and the best performance in those groups.  Morehead STEM Academy, Piedmont Middle and Irwin Academic Center,  CMS magnets with admission requirements, and Sugar Creek Charter,  a Charlotte school serving a high-poverty population,  stand out on those lists.

Time for all the caution flags.  First,  the numbers are stale.  It wasn't a typo to say the grades are based on 2012 exams.  The 2013 results that would give us a snapshot of the most recent school year won't be released until November,  as state officials figure out how to deal with new exams.  The state's school report cards,  which give a more comprehensive set of school data,  won't be updated until January.  For consistency,  CarolinaCAN used 2012 graduation rates,  though you can get 2013 rates online.

Second, the grades and lists don't just compare apples and oranges,  they pretty much throw in the whole produce section.  There are neighborhood schools,  magnets,  charters and alternative schools;  rural districts, urban districts and everything in between.  Schools that serve the most disadvantaged kids are graded on the same curve as those where most kids have college-educated parents who send them in prepared and motivated to learn.

Third,  the report cards are a work in progress.  When I first looked at the lists last week I was befuddled.  CMS' Metro School,  which serves severely disabled students ages 3-23, was listed as one of the best elementary schools based on performance gains.  There were numerous errors linked to the school closings and other changes CMS made in 2011-12.  Kowal rechecked after I raised those questions and found ways to fix most of the problems.  She's asking anyone who uses the ratings to email her (julie.kowal@carolinacan.org) with questions and issues.

To trot out one of my favorite sayings,  crunching school data doesn't provide answers, but it helps you ask better questions.  One of the biggest questions may be:  Can the state create a grading system that benefits students, educators, voters and taxpayers?