There is a simple logic to rating schools A-F.  Meaning, that to the Simpleton, an “A” school is exceptional, a “F” school is not, and all the other schools are some shade of “Not Good” or “Not Bad.”

The problem is what exactly are we rating?

Student performance? Maybe.

Campus poverty levels and/or demographics. Definitely.

Even the in the Great State of Texas, where we have been playing the accountability game the longest, state education officials admit that the correlation between a campus performance rating and campus poverty levels is 0.7. For the record, that’s a lot.  This also means that the A-F Accountability system is primarily measuring campus poverty rates.

OK.

Now this begs the question, who is truly responsible for state poverty levels, which are most directly impacted by state economic policies?

Teachers? Schools? Seems like kind of a stretch.

State Politicians? Intriguing. Our current crop of state politicians take full credit for the “Texas Miracle” that is our economy. The same Texas Miracle that has produced the highest percentage of poverty and wealth disparity in the history of our state.  It seems as if our politicians are volunteering to be held accountable for this.

So, I suggest the following, for every “F” school and district in the state, its state senator, state representative, Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General name is listed with the school on every accountability document and publication.

After all, there is a simple logic to “A-F” accountability rating.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

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