[Volcano_Vista_HS] Letter Grades for Schools Among Reforms

Moderator's Note: There is a lot of talk about education reform with a new governor (and education secretary) and the school board election. I'll pass on information that you may have missed...

Saturday, January 15, 2011
Letter Grades for Schools Among Reforms

By Hailey Heinz
Journal Staff Writer

          Letter grades for schools based on student progress will be among the first reforms on tap for New Mexico if Hanna Skandera is confirmed as the state's education secretary.
        Giving schools grades between A and F during the past decade was a key component of education reforms in Florida, where Skandera worked under former Gov. Jeb Bush. The theory is that letter grades provide a more fair label for schools than those under the No Child Left Behind Act.
        "I really believe in No Child Left Behind and its mission," Skandera said Friday. "But at times it does not provide the detail needed. It's only a starting point. What we really want to ask, and what we really want our teachers to be equipped with is, how much progress did they make?"
        Skandera said accurate labeling allows communities to rally around their schools and help failing schools improve.
        "With that information comes a responsibility to say, 'We own this,' " Skandera said.
        New York City schools also use the system, and it has been proposed in Arizona.
        Skandera said other Florida reforms, which Gov. Susana Martinez campaigned on, will come later. The Florida reforms were adopted in 1999 and led to a marked increase in scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test given to students nationwide.
        In 1998, 53 percent of Florida's fourth-graders were proficient in reading, a number that jumped to 73 percent by 2009.
        Gains in Florida were driven by Hispanic students.
        Other reforms included the hiring of about 2,000 reading coaches, smaller class sizes, giving vouchers and other choices to certain students and holding back third-graders who hadn't learned to read.
        A bill has been pre-filed for the coming legislative session that would adopt the third-grade promotion policy.
        Skandera will begin her tenure in the midst of proposed cuts to education funding.
        Under Martinez's budget plan, districts will have to cut 1.5 percent from their budgets, and the Public Education Department will have to cut 20 percent. Skandera said it would be premature to say how she plans to cut the PED.
        "We'll have to get even smarter about how we're spending our money," she said.
        Skandera said she will adopt reforms despite tight budgets.
        "We need a better return on our investment," she said. "Let's ask the tough questions about what we are investing in."

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