RD489 - Plan for the Development of an A - F School Grading System for Virginia Public Schools Approved by the Virginia Board of Education - January 1, 2015


Executive Summary:
Originally, House Bill 1999/Senate Bill 1207, as passed in the 2013 session of the General Assembly, required that the Board of Education report individual school performance using a grading system that included the standards of accreditation, state and federal accountability requirements, and student growth indicators in assigning grades. The grading system was to be based on an A-to-F grading scale. The Board was to (i) assign a grade from A to F to each public school in the Commonwealth; (ii) make both the system and the grade assigned to each school in the Commonwealth available to the public; and (iii) report to the General Assembly a summary of the system and the assigned grades. Student growth was defined as (i) whether individual students on average fell below, met, or exceeded an expected amount of growth based on a statewide average or reference base year on state assessments or additional assessments approved by the Board; (ii) maintained a proficient or advanced proficient performance level on state assessments; or (iii) made significant improvement within the below basic or basic level of performance on reading or mathematics assessments as determined by the Board. The Board did develop a grading system in response to that legislative requirement.

In the 2014 session of the General Assembly, House Bill 1229/Senate Bill 324 amended the law to require that the Board develop a preliminary plan for an A-F school performance grading system. In developing the system, the Board can consider (i) the standards of accreditation, (ii) state and federal accountability requirements, (iii) state-mandated assessments, (iv) any alternative assessments developed or approved for use by the relevant local school board, (v) student growth indicators, (vi) student mobility, (vii) the experience and qualifications of school staff, (viii) total cost and funding per pupil, (ix) school safety, and (x) any other factors that the Board deems necessary to produce a full and accurate grade for each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth. Further, the Board shall also address, in consultation with the legislative education committees, whether to assign a single grade per school or assign multiple grades based on multiple factors.