The state‘s A-to-F grades for schools will not be made public this month after all.
The State Board of Education voted Wednesday to delay the release of the grades for the 2013-14 school year after a heated discussion involving appeals of grades filed by a handful of schools. The grades are now scheduled to be released at the next state board meeting on Nov. 5.
A data error affecting the grades of five schools, as well as appeals filed over the calculation of certain data at some charter schools caused most board members to ask for more time to ensure all of the 21-hundred school grades are accurate.
Though she eventually voted in favor of the delay in releasing the grades, state Superintendent Glenda Ritz and her staff argued that the remainder of the grades could be made public while any recalculations on schools who appealed were conducted by her department.
Board member David Freitas, who also voted for the delay, nonetheless chastised Ritz and her staff for not being ready.
"This is all coming to a head today that I see, somehow, a lack of leadership and a lack of attention to detail that places us in a really bad position," Freitas says.
Board member Brad Oliver noted the grades weren't released until December of last year due to errors involving the administration of ISTEP tests in the spring of 2013, so there was no need to rush the scores out this month.
Ritz‘s department is also still waiting for a review of the grades by the Legislative Services Agency to ensure their accuracy – which was supposed to be complete before Wednesday‘s meeting.
The board‘s vote to delay was 7-1, with only Gordon Hendry voting to release the grades immediately.
