JACKSON, Miss.- Members of the Board of Education in Mississippi have a tough decision ahead of them with a re-evaluation of the School district grading standard.
This is how it works, schools are graded on an A through F scale according to how they score. Much like when your child receives an A for a number score of 95.
“The board had to determine what those percentages were that they were going to use,” said John Moore Chairman of Education and House Representative. “If every school in the state hits that high number, guess what, we’d have all A’s.”
The big question is, how many schools and districts should get A’s and how many should get F’s under the current system?
The decision is a controversial one for any district that could get an F grade because it could effect who controls the school. Under the current ruling schools who receive an F grade two years in a row are at stake to be taken over by the state. D and F districts are also subject to potential charter schools opening, and C districts would be required to allow students to attend charter schools somewhere else.
The divisions between A and B and D and F graded districts are causing the uproar. In a previous vote the panel agreed that 22 districts would get high marks, instead of only 11. They also voted against 28 districts getting F ratings. Instead that number is only 19.
“Where do we need to set that A level, do we need to set it at 600, do we need to set it at 700?” said Moore.
What officials are deciding is how many points score an A, B, C, and so on. Right now Elementary and middle schools are graded on a 700 point scale with high schools on a scale of 1000 points.
