BESE candidates divided on new letter grades for public schools

Letter grades released Wednesday that show a sizable percentage of Louisiana public schools failing or underperforming are generating controversy among candidates for the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, according to the Pelican Institute for Public Policy. A report issued today by the nonpartisan think tank says officials representing a coalition of teachers unions, superintendents and school board associations claim the letter grading system—which replaced a point and star system—was set up to advance a political agenda built around the expansion of charter schools and privatization initiatives. While many of the schools in the New Orleans state-run Recovery School District and the local Orleans Parish School Board showed measurable improvement, 44% received a letter grade of “D” or “F” on the report card released by the Louisiana Department of Education. Statewide, many public schools showed visible signs of improvement. If the current letter grade system had been in place back in 2007, 55% of Louisiana public schools would have earned a “D” or “F.” That means the number of schools failing to achieve at least a “C” grade decreased by 20% from just a few years ago. Moreover, the number of public schools that received a “B” or “A” almost doubled from 14.9% in 2007 to 28.4% in 2011. Read the full report here.