Lift Every Voice

From New York Voices
Now how could any school with a principal that looks like Melissa Garafolo get a mark less than an A? :)

Grading the Schools
Last month, the Department of Education gave almost every public school in the city a letter grade. One hundred and fifty-one schools got either a 'D' or an 'F,' and the city has announced that thirteen of them will be shut down at the end of the year, with more to follow.

But why did some failing schools get 'A's, while others with great reputations got 'D's and 'F's?

Grading the Schools Fifty-five percent of the grades were derived from what the city calls "student progress." That's a measure of the extent to which test scores went up or down over the course of one year. Some parents say this formula puts too much emphasis on test scores — and last year's test scores in particular.

We visit four schools to hear reactions from principals and parents: P.S. 154 in Windsor Terrace; P.S.35 in Staten Island; JHS 50 in Williamsburg, and Central Park East I in Manhattan.
Grading the Schools

Then Rafael Pi Roman sits down with School's Chancellor Joel Klein to discuss the new grading sys