Readers of this blog know Washington Policy Center recommends creating A–F letter grades for school performance in Washington, as eleven other states do, to inform parents and the community how their local school is doing. Yesterday, Seattle Times reporter Brian Rosenthal, who has stayed on top of the issue, wrote that Governor Inslee confirmed his support for letter grades for schools. In recent days there has been a growing impression that Governor Inslee had flip-flopped, that he planned to renege on his promise about A–F school grading (as he did recently when he broke his no-taxes campaign promise), and so he told reporters he wants to "clarify" his position on grading schools. That's perfectly understandable, under the circumstances.
Last July, when the candidates for governor were describing their positions on education reform to voters, Brian Rosenthal reported that Jay Inslee "wants to establish a system in which every school in the state receives a letter grade that's accessible to parents."
Governor Inslee’s most recent statement lays out five conditions to giving A–F letter grades to Washington’s schools.
The good news is these conditions have largely been met by the state’s current rating system.
See the State Board of Education’s Achievement Index, available here. Here is the State Board of Education’s summary report describing how the Index was created, with links to the full report, here.
