October 23, 2013                                                                Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter View our videos on YouTube


 

In this issue of Ed-Connect, find information on this year's school letter grades release. Additionally, you will a summary of last week's BESE meeting as well as videos of Louisiana educators speaking about the Common Core State Standards

 
IN THIS ISSUE:
 
School Letter Grades Releaseletter

 

Tomorrow, the Department will release the 2013 letter grades and school performance scores. The letter grade formularevised for the 2012-2013 school  year, seeks to raise standards while ensuring fairness for schools, students, and educators. It also is easier to understand with any score above 100 calculated as an A and any score below 50 as an F. The formula focuses on important priorities for the state and its schools by:

  • Raising the academic bar to align with new standards by awarding points only for performance at basic and above
  • Honoring progress among students who have not yet achieved proficiency
  • Highlighting student access to two-year and four-year colleges through the Explore, Plan, and ACT
  • Rewarding college success through assessments of college readiness, such as AP and IB

The school performance scores and letter grades will be released via the report cards for every school and district, formatted to show clearly how the letter grade was calculated. Report cards will be available here tomorrow afternoon.

 

Across our state, teachers are well into this next school year-planning, instructing and assessing to ensure students are achieving our state's standards. In the midst of all you are doing to support our students, we hope you and your colleagues will take time to celebrate the successes of last year and the progress this represents for students across our state. 

 

BESE Meeting RecapBESE

 

Last week the Department provided BESE with a detailed presentation about our state's transition to higher standards. After hearing this presentation and comments from over 70 speakers, BESE chose to adopt policies as emergency rules in order to immediately address selection and use of instructional materials, parental review of materials used in the classroom, and the privacy of student information. These policies uphold the ability of local school systems to select instructional materials and resist any curriculum imposed by federal or state government. The policy supports parental notification of texts used in high school English, and it require the use of identification numbers that do not allow for students to be personally identified when state tests are administered beginning in the next school year. Louisiana will continue moving forward with the Common Core State Standards. 

 

Louisiana will continue moving forward with the Common Core State Standards with the goal of preparing students for college or a career. Click here to find an FAQ about the Common Core State Standards and here for PTA parent guides.

Common Core Testimonycc

 

Click here to watch videos from the state Board of Secondary and Elementary Education meeting last week, of fellow educators describing their experience with Common Core State Standards in their classrooms.

 

 
Louisiana Department of Education
1201 N. Third Street
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
1-877-453-2721

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