Tennessee officials map out school A-F letter grade plan, state board members voice concern

As public schools await A-F letter grades later this year, Tennessee education officials outlined how they will determine those scores Thursday.

David Laird, the Tennessee Department of Education's assistant commissioner of assessment and accountability, gave an overview of the letter grade model before the state Board of Education. Schools are currently given a performance score of 1-4, with 4 being the highest. That number was based on achievement, growth, attendance and English language proficiency.

Recently appointed Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds was also on hand for the Thursday meeting as Laird presented the new letter grade system. The new plan was met with skepticism by some board members as Reynolds helped field questions, occasionally pushing back at board members' comments.

Members cited concerns over how the new grading system could have a disproportionately negative impact on high poverty schools and appear to be discriminatory or unfair.

"That's really one of my major concerns," Darrell Cobbins, the board's vice chair, said.

He said that schools facing chronic challenges that trickle down to students will likely repeatedly end up on the F list.

"Does it become a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers, students, families opt out for something better?" Cobbins said. "It's a struggle for me to understand saying everyone should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, when some folks have a closet full of boots and some have none."

One board member asked if there would be any punitive action for schools that are given poor letter grades.

"We're not going to go in there and take away their money or slap them around," Reynolds said. "The public will know how they’re doing with their kids. At the end of the day, it’s got to be about the kids."

The original law that prompted the letter grades noted that schools who received a D or F could face an academic and fiscal audit or be subject to a corrective action plan by the state education department.

Laird said the new system is meant to be a simpler, easier-to-understand way to illustrate school performance for families. He also pointed to the efforts the education department made to include stakeholders and the public in the conversation.

“We did an enormous amount of engagement to try and solicit feedback," Laird said.

From August: Tennessee schools to receive A-F letter grades this fall, leaders seek public input

The A-F letter grade system, at a glance

Achievement, growth and subgroup scores will apply to grades for all schools. Additionally, college and career readiness will factor into grades for high schools.

Elementary schools

• Achievement: 50%

• Growth: 40%

• Subgroup (lowest 25%): 10%

Middle schools

• Achievement: 50%

• Growth: 40%

• Subgroup (lowest 25%): 10%

High schools

• Achievement: 50%

• Growth: 30%

• Subgroup (lowest 25%): 10%

• College and career readiness: 10%

How the indicators work

Each indicator will receive a sub-score of 1-5, which will then be multiplied by assigned weights to calculate the aggregate score. That aggregate will then be translated into a letter grade. The number scores will work as follows:

• A: 4.5-5

• B: 3.6-4.5

• C: 2.6-3.5

• D: 1.6-2.5

• F: 1-1.5

Achievement includes proficiency success rates on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program test and end-of-course exams. Test subjects will be weighted differently by grade. Districts can also opt to include students taking advanced course work and their associated exams, but must maintain a 95% participation rate on those exams.

Growth will be measured by schoolwide Tennessee Value Added Assessment Scores, which will continue to function as they have in years past. The state uses that system to measure a student's growth each year, regardless of how they score on state assessments. For example, a student could fall short on a state assessment but still boost their growth score by moving from below to approaching proficiency. Growth is compared relative to the student's peers who performed similarly in the past, according to the education department.

Subgroup performance will account for students in the lowest performing 25% of the TVAAS growth measure. They will be identified based on the previous year's TCAP scores.

College and career readiness, which only applies to high schools, will measure the percentage of the graduating class with at least one of the following:

• A score of 21 or higher on the ACT

• A postsecondary credit-earning score via AP, IB, Cambridge, CLEP, dual credit or dual enrollment

• An industry credential (Tier III or Tier II plus one other industry credential)

• As Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery qualifying score

Schools will submit the information to the state department of education ahead of the expected release of the letter grades in December.

In a news release Thursday evening, Reynolds stressed the importance of the letter grades to communicate clearly to families about school performance.

"While we cannot satisfy all priorities and perspectives that were shared, we believe we have developed a calculation for school letter grades that aligned with the spirit of the law and will more meaningfully differentiate school performance to parents," Reynolds said in the release. "I look forward to continuing to work with our stakeholders to focus on continuous improvement and deliver the best for all our students."

In August and September, the Department of Education hosted a series of town halls and small group conversations open to the public, along with opportunities to to engage on social media and submit written comments. The goal was to discuss the best way to measure school performance and to create transparency in what the new letter grades mean.

A series of 10 town hall meetings were hosted in Dickson, Greeneville, Bartlett, Memphis, Dyersburg, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Cookeville, Nashville and Shelbyville from mid-August to early September. The meetings were also livestreamed. Public comment submissions also drew around 300 responses.

Recordings of the town hall meetings, along with more information on the new letter grades, can be found at tn.gov/education/SchoolLetterGrades.

The department of education also hosted five working group meetings made up of district and school leaders, elected officials, parents and other education stakeholders. They reviewed the public comments and made recommendations on how to calculate each letter grade.

See the full school letter grade plan for yourself

Tennessee A-F school letter grade calculation by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: A-F letter grades for schools: Tennessee maps out how new system works