September 7, 2019

Should schools be ranked with a single number or grade?

California, in adopting a new accountability system based on multiple measures, has firmly rejected the idea of a single ranking for schools. We interview Michael Kirst, the former president of the State Board of Education, who tells us why he is still against the idea of a single rating for schools.

For a transcript of Kirst’s comments, go here.

And we interview Jon Deane, the CEO of GreatSchools.org, an Oakland-based parent-oriented nonprofit that ranks schools on a 1-to-10 scale, which he says many parents find helpful.

We also discuss the $15 billion construction bond covering pre-K through higher education facilities on the March 2020 state ballot.

EdSource released a video that looks at the school construction and renovation needs of Fresno Unified. It indicates that low-income communities with lower than average property values, like Fresno, get a disproportionately small share of state bond funding.

For more, see the following articles: