EVANSVILLE - The impact that Indiana’s A-F school accountability system can have often sends graduates into the world with fewer opportunities in post secondary education or career, according to Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz.
“If a kid has a 3.7 grade-point average from an ‘F’ school, it is never going to be looked at the same as a 3.7 from an ‘A’ school — ever,” Ritz said to more than 300 members of the Evansville Retired Teachers Association.
Ritz spoke at the association’s quarterly luncheon Thursday afternoon at the American Baptist East Church. Ritz said she travels the state two or three days a week to visit schools and speak with educators. On Thursday she also toured Francisco, Oakland City, South Terrace elementary schools and North Posey Jr/Sr High School. After the retired teachers meeting, she attended a grant presentation from the Old National Bank Foundation to the National Center for Families Learning.
During a question-and-answer session after Ritz spoke generally about the state’s department of education, an association member asked her about the A-F system because there are some Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. schools labeled as failing despite the educators and students in those buildings knowing they are not failures.
Ritz said there is a panel of people currently working on a new A-F system focused on being more “transparent and fair.” When she took office, Ritz said it was put into law that she must label schools on an A through F system.
“I am not for labeling schools ... The most heartbreaking piece about that is really, it’s not really about the schools because even if a school has an F that’s based on a test, one test,” Ritz said. “It’s not based upon that you might have 60 percent students who speak another language who have to take that pass/fail test. It doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the school in any way, but what it’s doing is it’s labeling students. And there’s nothing sadder than that.”
Ritz explained the school accountability grades started under No Child Left Behind legislation. She believes schools should be put into improvement categories instead of A-F grades. The schools the state has taken over are still labeled as F, Ritz said. Despite some improvements, their assessment scores are “no better than what they necessarily were, or there’s slight improvement.”
“I’m very excited about what Evansville is doing,” she said. “Because that’s how it’s supposed to work and where the support pieces should be.”
Retired Teachers Association President and EVSC School Board member Andrew Guarino said he was thrilled to schedule Ritz about five months ago. Guarino said not many people get the chance to have face-to-face conversations with the state’s superintendent.
Guarino said the A-F system can cause good schools to be seen as unfavorable, which isn’t fair to students. He noted Glenwood Leadership Academy being given the ability to continue work with Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, a three-year partnership with a Boston-based not-for-profit with the goal to better reach students and increase achievement. Personally, Guarino believes the state’s department of education will do the same for two other EVSC buildings that are “on watch” for their continually poor assessment scores.
“McGary (middle school) scores went up so that looks pretty good; Lincoln’s not so much ... Mass Insight has done wonders with training some of the teachers, giving them resources that will help them sort through curriculum maps, and to be able to focus on the (assessments).”
It’s a shame, he said, that classroom lessons continue to focus on teaching the test because he said many teachers feel they can’t be as creative as they would prefer, but he believes they still find a way to include it.
“It really does affect the mindset of the kid,” he said. “A lot of people think ‘Oh, the kids don’t know they’re in an F school.’ Sure they do ... I wish they could change that system, but that would have to be done by the Legislature.”