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Madison earns ‘A’ on state report card
Madison City Schools received an ‘A’ on its report card from the State Department of Education. The photograph shows a report card from the mid-20th century. CONTRIBUTED
MONTGOMERY – The Alabama State Department of Education has issued ‘report cards’ for all school districts in the state.
Madison City Schools received an ‘A’ for its “Letter Grade” on the Alabama district report card.
Neighboring districts’ ratings included Madison County Schools, B; Athens City Schools, B; Limestone County Schools, B; Decatur City Schools, B; and Huntsville City Schools, C.
State officials used a scale of 100 points to ‘grade’ each district with a letter grade. Grades range from ‘A’ for the highest ratings to ‘F’ for those with least improvement.
The state department assigned an ‘A’ to districts that showed “excellent progress.” ‘B’ indicates “above average progress”; ‘C’ for “making satisfactory progress”; and ‘D’ if the school district is “making less than satisfactory progress.”
An ‘F’ indicates the district is “failing to make adequate progress.”
On a department web page (ap.alsde.edu/accountability/atof), a user can click on a school district in a map of Alabama. For each district, the page breaks down the component percentages for the district’s overall ‘grade’ from ‘A’ to ‘F.’
The components are “Learning Gains” in reading and math (30 percent of overall score); “Student Achievement” in reading and math (20 percent); “Graduation Rate” (20 percent); and “Local Indicator” (5 percent).
For “Learning Gains,” officials determined an achievement percentage for both reading and math based on individual students who demonstrate improvement in that subject from one year to the next, using multiple years of data. MCS’ score was 100 (out of 100).
For “Student Achievement” for reading and math, the rating uses the percentage of proficient students in that subject by using assessments in tested grades. MCS rated 88.66.
MCS rated 97 for “Graduation Rate” for high school students who graduate within five years maximum from entering ninth grade. “Local Indicator” is based on “one indicator tied to student outcomes” using baselines that the district set. MCS rated 100.
Consistently scoring at highest levels for the state, schools districts in Birmingham suburbs rated with an ‘A’ were Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills city school districts.
The report cards resulted from Alabama ACT No. 2012-402, which mandated that the state superintendent develop a grading system that reflects a school or district’s performance. “Alabama’s goal is to provide another transparent layer of accountability as it relates to elementary and secondary
education in the state,” according to the state department.
For more information, visit ap.alsde.edu/accountability/atof.
