OSDE releases A-F Report Cards for schools

 OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 22, 2015) — As required by state law, 2015 A-F Report Cards for all public schools in Oklahoma have been calculated and are now available. The report cards can be accessed at http://afreportcards.ok.gov/.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister has indicated she has no confidence in the validity or reliability of the report cards in their current framework. The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) determines the grades using a formula that had been mandated by a 2013 state law. The OSDE supports strong accountability for education, but problems with the A-F Report Cards have seriously undermined the system’s credibility. Even the U.S. Department of Education has criticized the report cards and required modifications as a condition for receiving the No Child Left Behind waiver.

House Bill 1823, which took effect in June, requires the State Board of Education to submit a report on the transparency, statistical trustworthiness and credibility of the current A-F system to the governor and legislative leaders by Dec. 31. Research scientists at Oklahoma’s two leading research universities are among those currently conducting that review and will have recommendations by December.

“I am committed to a system of accountability that is accurate, reliable and meaningful,” Hofmeister said. “In its current form, the A-F Report Cards are too flawed to be useful. I am optimistic that we can have a better system.”

This year, there were 212 A’s, 497 B’s, 536 C’s, 333 D’s and 183 F’s.

By contrast, in the 2014-15 school year, there were 284 A’s, 470 B’s, 492 C’s, 292 D’s and 196 F’s.

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