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2013 SESSION

13104786D
SENATE BILL NO. 1207
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Education and Health)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Stanley)
Senate Amendments in [ ] -- February 4, 2013
A BILL to require the Board of Education to develop a grading system for individual school performance.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. That the Board of Education shall report individual school performance using a grading system in addition to the standards of accreditation. Such grading system shall be based on both state and federal accountability requirements and include student growth in assigning grades. The grading system shall be based on an A-to-F grading scale and shall include the school's accreditation rating. The Board, by October 1, 2015, shall (i) develop the grading system; (ii) make both the system and the grade assigned to each school in the Commonwealth available to the public; and (iii) report to the General Assembly a summary of the system and the assigned grades.

As used in this act, for purposes of assigning grades, "student growth" means (i) moving from one performance level to a higher performance level on state assessments or additional assessments approved by the Board; (ii) maintaining a proficient or advanced proficient performance level on state assessments; or (iii) making significant improvement within the below basic or basic level of performance on reading or mathematics assessments as determined by the Board. The Board may also consider student growth percentiles (SGPs) as a factor in assigning grades.

 [ § 2.- That by October 2013, the Board of Education shall (i) assign a grade from A to F to each public school in the Commonwealth based primarily on state accreditation and federal accountability determinations for the 2013-2014 school year based on 2012-2013 state assessment results; (ii) make the grade assigned to each school in the Commonwealth available to the public on the annual report card for each school; and (iii) report to the General Assembly and the public a summary of the system and the assigned grades. ]  The Board shall assign grades to each public school based on the following criteria:

1. A grade of A means a school (i) received a rating of fully accredited; (ii) scored a 25 percent or higher advanced proficiency pass rate on state assessments in each content area, using the three-year trailing average methodology; and (iii) meets all federal annual measurable objectives (AMOs);

2. A grade of B means a school (i) received a rating of fully accredited and (ii) scored an advanced proficiency pass rate less than 25 percent;

3. A grade of C means a school received a rating of accredited with warning in one content area only;

4. A grade of D means a school (i) received a rating of accredited with warning in more than one content area; (ii) received a rating of provisionally accredited--graduation rate; or (iii) is a priority school that was not denied accreditation or received a rating of conditionally accredited--reconstituted school; and

5. A grade of F means a school was denied accreditation or received a rating of conditionally accredited--reconstituted school.

 [ § 3. That the Board of Education shall not assign grades until student growth factors are included in the determination of grades.  ]