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Dear Editor,

BESE is proposing a change to the High School accountability system solely to reduce the number of High Schools rated A or B, not to make the accountability system a better reflection of our public schools. After the proposal was reviewed by Superintendents and accountability experts, it was found NOT to be in the best interest of students. Forcing students into college-level classes in High School does nothing to ensure they master High School content. LASS and other education groups propose an accountability system based upon a simple 100-point scale aligned to the A-F grading scale that all of our parents understand. The system divides college & career readiness, ACT/WorkKeys, and Growth to result in A-F grades using a 10-point scale. It aligns ACT to TOPS and to WorkKeys. It focuses on grading high schools for accomplishing high school education. It incentivizes both dual enrollment and career credentials but does not demand college work from High School students. It scales growth by recognizing that all growth is positive. It recognizes students who graduate on time and students whom strive to finish after four years. It equally recognizes college-ready students AND career-ready students. It also recognizes readiness for Military Service. It recognizes the achievement of SPED students who are prepared to enter the workforce. This proposal offers a more accurate reflection of students and schools. It will also be better for students, families, businesses, and communities to understand. For those that ask, “What will the letter-grade distribution be under your proposal?”, we didn’t run the numbers. Our goal was to formulate a system that is better for students, parents, and communities – NOT to decide what the outcome of the math should be then reverse engineer the formula to accomplish a predetermined result.

Louisiana Association of School Superintendents

Mike Faulk, Executive Director

Patrick Jenkins, President

David Claxton, Vice-President

Dr. Ken Oertling, Secretary/Treasurer

Sheldon Jones, Immediate Past President