DOE letter grades not the whole pictureTo the Editor: Your September 3 article on school report cards correctly notes that the letter grades given to each school by the New York City Department of Education are the subject of intense debate across the city. However, the article does little to explain the reasons for this controversy. As a parent at a new elementary school – P.S 366: Washington Heights Academy – that received its first “grade” this year, I have a new appreciation of the mixed blessing of this system. Our progress report contains data that is helping our school leaders to identify areas that need improvement and our teachers to refine instruction and assessment strategies. But reducing this complex data to a single grade based on one year of test scores (and in our case determined by an unusually small sample size of students) can grossly misrepresent the quality of a school. There is ample evidence that students at Washington Heights Academy are thriving in a quality educational environment. Although we are only entering our third year, the DOE Web site presents several measures of our school’s success. Our recent DOE Quality Review gave us the second highest rating of Proficient. Our testing results exceeded New York State accountability standards in literacy, math and science by a wide margin and we are a “School in Good Standing” under federal guidelines for No Child Left Behind. The DOE’s survey of our school reflected 98% parent satisfaction with the quality of education provided. The DOE is clear that the progress report grade should not be viewed in isolation, and that these other measures are equally important in evaluating schools. Yet the only measure that gets any publicity is the grade itself. In spite of our accomplishments, all many people will now know about us is that we received an F on our report card. They won’t know that most schools receiving a similar grade on their first report card went on to get an A or B the following year. The progress report can provide valuable information to help schools, parents and students, but the grade alone can lead to misleading judgments about a school’s success. Christopher Jones Parent of 3rd grade student at Washington Heights Academy
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