How to Create Effective School Report Cards

The school rating Service, formerly known as the National Association of School Directors (NASD), has been the subject of many recent articles in education magazines and school newsletters. A recent article on the state of NASD included a statement from its executive director criticizing "systematic and institutionalized [cuts] to school funding." In a May article in the New York Times, Shankbone talked about the state of school ratings in our country. She noted that many states are cutting funding for public higher education and school districts are looking to voucher systems and charters to fill the gaps. And while she applauded a recently passed federal bill that aims to increase funding for Pell grants, she noted that there is "still no real plan" to fully implement the bill or solve the long standing problem of inadequate school funding.

I was surprised by some of the comments made in Shankbone's articles and the tone of some of her statements. One item she repeatedly wrote about was charter schools. I had written about such issues in previous articles and did not support the criticism of charter schools. I also wrote in one of my articles that parents should not assume that every school on a "list" of publicly funded schools is a high performing private school.

According to the School Report Card website, a letter grade is given to every school in North America on a scale from "A" to "F". The letter grade is given to a school based on its academic proficiency in reading, math and; teachers' job performance, classroom size and control over class composition. An "A" school is thought to be well-organized, teach well-rounded subjects, provide a wide variety of instructional experiences and allow for a healthy learning environment. An "A" school is also thought to be representative of the communities it serves and is widely regarded as a leader in education. A "B" school is less well-known and thought to function more like a "private school" with fewer opportunities for meaningful community involvement.

In order to receive a "A" or "B" school rating, a school has to meet all the necessary criteria - test scores, student growth and development in each area of focus, staff quality, classroom size and control over class composition. It is not enough to meet any one of these criteria. A school must also perform well in at least one of the four areas of focus described above. A school may receive an "A" grade span rating if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

Charter schools are independently owned institutions that charter members are required to report to for school quality reports. Schools that are members of this organization are evaluated by independent companies like Moody's and ACT. Charter school ratings are based on the same factors used by third-party companies in the assessment. Charter school ratings help parents, students and educators understand what kind of school you can consider for your child. Most of these rating bar companies like Moody's and ACT do not publish school grades, but rather give a range between "A" to "F" for performance on standardized test scores.

The four categories of focus identified by the charter organization include academic growth and development, student safety, student support services and school climate. A school report card from one of these organizations is not considered to be a reflection of school quality unless it displays a score that falls within the acceptable range. Although the idea of school report cards might seem odd to some people, to the schools that use them they are a useful way to monitor progress toward a school vision.