In 2018, the Republican legislature passed a school assessment system using an A through F letter grade. This was in addition to a School Performance Index. Those in favor of the A-F system argue that it provides additional information for parents. Those against argue that it is confusing.
Fact is, despite huge funding increases in schools over the past 50 years, student performance has continued to wane. And parents get less bang for their buck as test scores drop, and schools simply promote children to the next grade whether they have the subject competencies or not.
Schools don’t provide easy access to usable information on how students perform on aptitude tests. (Less than half of Paw Paw Public school kids meet standards on most subjects.) If schools were honest with parents on academic performance of their student populations, these state indices would be unnecessary. For now, it’s all they’ve got.
Sen. Nesbitt voted no.
Wendzel voted no.
Bill passed and signed by governor.
Signed into law May 22, 2023: PA 34 of 2023