In an effort to expand the snapshot of a school the report card provides, the Department will add information about student poverty, teacher tenure and education levels, and fundingAUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Department of Education has begun creating the 2014 school report cards that will be published in May.
For the second straight year, the Department will use existing school performance and progress data to provide the public a snapshot of how the state’s 600 schools are doing.
Earlier today, superintendents and principals received a reminder from the Department to review the math and reading proficiency and growth data as well as graduation and assessment participation rates that will be used to calculate their report card. For months, schools have had all of the data that will be used and have already certified it as being accurate. But in an effort to ensure data quality and grading system transparency, the Department is providing a final review and appeal period this year.
The Department developed the Maine School Performance Grading System in 2013 to bring more transparency and accountability to school performance across the state.
The report cards provide the public with Maine’s first true statewide accountability system. Previous systems required by the State and U.S. Department of Education relied on bureaucratic terminology to characterize school performance and only applied to Title I schools.
The roll-out of the report cards last May sparked a statewide conversation on school quality and drove thousands of Mainers to the Department’s website to learn more about their local school’s performance and
