INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Board of Education is considering changes to its new A-to-F grading system for schools after objections from many high schools that received C ratings despite high student test scores.
The revisions proposed Monday would have given about half of all high schools grades of A or B. This year, 19 percent were rated A or B because many schools had inadequate progress by at-risk students such as those in special education programs or from low-income families.
State schools superintendent Tony Bennett, however, said the new system might not be tough enough, The Indianapolis Star reported.
"We need to create a grading scale that reflects reality," Bennett said.
The new rules would have rated 16 percent of high schools with a D or an F — down from 21 percent under the existing rules.
Indiana would need to receive a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education to remove the cap of a C rating on schools that don't make adequate progress on state tests as required by the 2002 No Child Left Behind law.
Bennett said he thought a situation in which too few high schools received D or F grades could hurt Indiana's waiver request. Nationally, he said, far higher percentages of low-performing high schools are common.
"We are going to have a devil of a time convincing the federal government that only 16 percent of our high schools are in the two lowest performance categories," he said.
Gail Zeheralis of the Indiana State Teachers Association said it seemed odd that the state would presuppose the failure rate on an entirely new system.
"If you want to develop an accountability system that people trust, then you should develop it and let the chips fall where they may," she said.
The state board expects to hold public hearings on the proposed changes in January and February and consider approval by the end of March.
The current rating system is based primarily on state test passing percentages, with some consideration given for schools that improved those passing rates.
The proposed method would consider scores on the state's ISTEP exams and high school end-of-course exams, along with rewarding and punishing schools based on how well the lowest-scoring students improve and the percentage of students who take advanced classes or college courses or earn industry certifications.
Steve Baker, the principal of northeastern Indiana's Bluffton High School who served on a committee crafting the new rules, said the proposal is fair.
"Our goal from the beginning was to make sure we were fair and equitable to all schools and presented a true picture of what high schools are," he said.
But Frank Bush, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, said he found the new rules confusing.
"I don't think this is making it simpler or fairer," Bush said. "It seems to me we are making things more complex, and it will be more challenging for school boards to communicate to their constituents."
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