State board looks into accountability

Arkansas education leaders are taking advantage of changes in education standards and the state testing program to explore modifications in the way schools are held accountable for student achievement, including the A to F school grades.

Education Secretary Jacob Oliva told the state Board of Education at a work session last week that he is frequently asked about continuing the A to F letter grades that are applied to schools and whether the current system is reflective of the learning that occurs in the schools.

His response, Oliva said, is that the public understands the A to F systems. But he also said that this could be the time to improve on current accountability systems in light of new math and English/language arts standards and the switch from ACT Aspire to a new state-required test.

The current accountability system for the state and for federal funding takes into account student achievement and improvement on the Aspire exams, as well as high school graduation rates, reading at grade level, student engagement or attendance, science achievement gains, grade-point averages, performance on the ACT college entrance exam, Advanced Placement course credit, computer science credits and community service learning credits.

The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has formed a work group to delve into the matter.

The 15 accountability work group members are listed under the “teaching and learning” and “accountability” links at the bottom of this Arkansas LEARNS Act webpage: learns.ade.arkansas.gov/WorkGroups.

Any changes in the accountability system would be subject to state Board of Education approval and/or legislative action.