Governor Mike Pence says schools should still receive state letter grades this year, despite questions about how Indiana’s ex-schools chief calculated last year’s A-through-F ratings.
Pence’s comments to reporters Thursday comes as state officials work to re-write the Indiana’s system for grading schools based on their test scores. The A-F formula came under fire months before the release of emails from former state superintendent Tony Bennett’s time in office raised fundamental questions about how his staff calculated last year’s grades.
Pence says he’s confident the parallel investigations legislative leaders and state superintendent Glenda Ritz are conducting will renew schools’ confidence in the A-F rating system.
“I believe once we answer the questions and bring about appropriate reforms and have a fair A-F system, that our schools will embrace that.”
However, the controversy surrounding Bennett has only generated more ill will toward the system at the school level. The Fort Wayne Community School board announced this week it would no longer recognize it schools based on their A-F rating. Indianapolis Public Schools officials are requesting all public documents related to the state takeover of four of its schools in 2011 — takeovers set in motion because of that year’s A-F grades.
Pence says questions about the grading formula — and with disrupted I-STEP tests that determine many schools’ ratings —don’t relieve the state of its obligation to hold schools accountable.
“I don’t think we should take a timeout on accountability. We’ve got too many kids in this state that find themselves in underperforming, and in some cases, failing schools.”
Legislative leaders hope to complete their investigations into the 2012 A-F grades by Labor Day.
Kyle Stokes reports for StateImpact Indiana.