The State of Texas released its new A-F method of grading public schools last week, and the new system is drawing heavy criticism from educators and public-school advocates.
In fact, as The Dallas Morning News reports, many are already calling for Texas to scrap the entire plan. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath insists that the new accountability measurement system is still a work in progress. And in fact, this year’s ratings are only preliminary. The new A-F system won't actually take effect until 2018.
That didn’t stop state Rep. Mary Gonzalez from filing a bill that would do away with the controversial new system. Gonzalez charges that the whole premise for the new grades is flawed. She notes that the system judges schools on the same metrics, despite different funding levels. She says it’s unfair to underfund a school, and then punish it when it doesn’t perform as well as a school that’s more heavily funded.
