The 74 Discusses Summative Ratings for School Performance
September 17, 2017
On The 74, Carolyn Phenicie discusses how, as the recently passed deadline for submission of state ESSA plans approached, many states were moving away from summative ratings for school performance. About half of the then-pending state plans used “some sort of clear, summative rating for schools, like A–F grades or one-to-five stars.” But that’s “a significant drop from the proportion of states using summative ratings in the first round of plans submitted earlier this year.” However, Phenicie notes that “if the first round is any guide,” it “likely won’t matter if states don’t have an A–F, five-star, 100-point, or other summative rating,” because the U.S. Dept. of Education “has so far approved more than a dozen state plans—including at least two that don’t include summative ratings.”