It may be early for students to get report cards, but not for schools.
Elementary and middle schools in the Goodrich and Brandon districts received nearly straight A’s last week on the Michigan School Report Card, a statewide assessment of school and student performance.
‘They’re great grades,? said Goodrich superintendent Kim Hart, of the A rating received by Oaktree and Reid elementaries, as well as the Goodrich Middle School.
‘Luckily we’re in a position where the scores went up. We are one of the high-performing schools, though there will come a time when we won’t be able to go up.?
In the Brandon district, Belle Ann and Howard T. Burt elementaries, Brandon Fletcher Intermediate, and Brandon Middle School all received A ratings, while Harvey-Swanson Elementary received a B.
‘The grades are adequate until the 2007-2008 school year when (requirements) go up again,? said Sue May, Brandon assistant superintendent for curriculum and instructional services. ‘We’re always going to be concerned with improving grades.?
The report cards, which schools have received for the past two years, are based mainly on data from the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) English and math tests taken by elementary and middle school students, along with science and social studies at the middle school level.
This year’s high school report cards aren’t yet available.
MEAP scores make up 67 percent of the schools? grades. The scores are used to measure both Achievement Status?-how well a school is educating its students?-and to measure Achievement Change, which grades whether student achievement is improving or declining.
School Performance Indicators account for one-third of the score. It’s the part of the grade that comes directly from the school.
Each school building has a school improvement team made up of teachers, parents, support staff, and board members. The team grades the school in 11 categories, looking at issues such as teacher quality, professional development, family involvement, character education, peer mediation, written safety plans, barrier-free access, and extended learning opportunities.
The team assigns one of four grades in each category, along with evidence supporting their grade choices.
‘It takes a while to do, it’s not something simple,? said Hart.
Even schools receiving an overall score of 100 percent may not get an A on their report cards.
In addition to the score, the school is required to pass an Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement, based on testing of ‘subgroups?, ensuring potentially disadvantaged students are learning.
Other state requirements are also considered, such as percentages of students graduating, and number present at the September and February student counts.
Only schools who pass AYP and score at least 90 percent get an A and receive summary accreditation. Schools receiving B, C, or D grades who pass AYP receive interim accreditation.
Although the Michigan School Report Card helps make schools accountable to the public, the report card also helps schools gear up for the 2013-2014 school year, when 100 percent proficiency will be required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act.
Over the next nine years, the percentage of proficient students will be raised continually, says May.
For example, fourth-graders could score in the 47th percentile to be proficient in math for the past two years, but fourth-graders in 2005 will need 56 percent to maintain the same grade.
In addition, as MEAP testing is expanded to all students in grades three to eight, individual students? scores will be annually evaluated to measure whether students are demonstrating at least one year of academic growth for each year of instruction.
‘The grading system has made the districts more accountable since the information has become public,? said May. ‘Yet our scores are not good enough?100 percent is good enough.?
To learn more about Michigan School Report Cards, go to http://www.michigan.gov/mde.
Editor David Fleet contributed to this report.