West Virginia’s A –F school accountability system is designed to provide parents and communities with an annual update on multiple measures that together show how well students are learning, growing and achieving. An A-F grading scale is used to show where schools have success, and areas that need improvement.
Beginning this year, the West Virginia Department of Education will calculate grades for every public school in West Virginia based on multiple measures of success. Annually, every public school will earn a grade of A (Distinctive), B (Commendable) C (Acceptable), D (Unacceptable), or F (Lowest).
These grades are based primarily on the results from the West Virginia General Summative Assessment, the summative assessment that all students take in the spring of each year. Attendance and graduation rates (high school only) also comprise part of the score.
“Our assessment results show that the strength of our system is clearly in third grade reading, overall growth and improvement in reading and math, attendance, and college and career readiness skills. In most areas, we far exceed the state average in growth indicators, which means our goal of continuous improvement is on schedule. As a system, we need to improve in the areas of overall growth in math and reading and focus on improving our at-risk subgroups,” said Greenbrier County Superintendent Jeff Bryant.
Greenbrier County Schools expects the release of school grades from the West Virginia Department of Education this week. The grades are distributed based on a bell curve, which evenly distributes grades across the state. This means approximately 9 percent will receive an A, 15 percent a B, 54 percent a C, 19 percent a D, and 4 percent an F.
“We certainly accept all accountability measures from the state board but we also realize that our schools are far more than a summative assessment and a letter grade. Our goal is to ensure every student is demonstrating growth toward proficiency, attending school regularly and graduating from high school prepared for a college or career. Our dropout rate is exceptionally low. We have strong art and music programs in place (thanks to our levy) as well as a rich curriculum throughout our system which includes technology integration and innovative programs,” said Bryant.
For additional information on the school accountability system, visit http://wvde.state.wv.us/a-f/. County-level questions can be directed to Vicky Cline, director of technology and testing for Greenbrier County Schools at 304-647-6484.
