Parents understand an 'A,' but what about a 'yellow' on a school report card?

Dave Murray:

Parents might know what an A means when they see it on a report card, but what if their school was graded "blue?"

The state Education Department is backing away from its plan to grade schools using three colors -- red, yellow and green -- to one that would use five colors, saying it would be more helpful to parents.

But several education advocacy groups say the new plan is better than the "traffic light," but still falls short of a report card system they said works well in other states and gives parents a clear indication of a school's progress.

"We're glad to hear about the five categories -- a big improvement for the new public reporting system," said Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust -Midwest. "We still think parents intuitively understand an A to F system better than a color system. For example, what does "yellow" mean to a parent in terms of school quality?"

Madison adopted a "standards-based" report card for middle schools several years ago. Unfortunately, it was not, at the time, compatible with the then new "infinite campus" system. Has this changed?

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 12, 2012 3:52 AM
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