School officials criticize A-F grades just released by Indiana

“It is reasonable to hold schools and teachers accountable for student learning,” John Ritzler, executive director of research & evaluation, said. “However, the formula needs to be based on student learning.”

While the current method of calculating grades takes into account students’ performance and improvement on standardized testing — for elementary schools — and other things, like graduation rate and college and career readiness indicators — for high schools — Ritzler believes it should be based solely on how much growth in learning students experience in a particular school or with a particular teacher.

“Student growth can’t be a fraction of the formula,” he said. “If the State Board of Education is going to assign grades to schools that purport to measure the quality of instruction, student growth must be the basis of the formula. Currently, it is not.”