The controversial A-F report grading system was the center of debate Tuesday, Nov. 19 during a meeting hosted by the Oklahoma Central Parent Legislative Action Committee (PLAC) at the Deer Creek Administration Building.

And, by the end of the almost-hour event, the overflow audience and discussion panel members came away with one thing in common.

There is still a wide divide whether the new system works or needs to be changed.

"I think there is a philosophical divide (about the grading system)," said panel member Joel Robison and chief of staff for the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

PLAC is a nonpartisan group with the goal of increasing parent and community awareness about legislative issues impacting public education in Oklahoma.

Tuesday’s meeting included panel discussion by Robison; Rep. Jason Nelson, chair of the Appropriations and Budget Committee for Human Services and member of the Common Education Committee; Rep. Emily Virgin, Assistant Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and a member of the Common Education Committee; Curt Adams, a professor at the University of Oklahoma Educational Policy; Heather Sparks, former Oklahoma State Teacher of the Year at Taft Middle School; and Dr. Melani Mouse, Putnam City Schools assistant superintendent of academic services.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education recently released A-F School report cards, giving all schools in the state a grade of A, B, C, D or F – similar to grades given to students. More than 90 percent of schools across the state received a grade of C or higher, with nearly 50 percent receiving a B.

The report cards represented 1 percent of schools with a grade of an F, 8 percent a D, 34 percent C, 48 percent B, 9 percent A.

The report cards show student achievement based on tests scores in subjects such as reading, writing and math. They show overall student growth, and whole school improvement, which consists of such things as student attendance, dropout rates, and advanced coursework. Schools earned bonus points for parent and community participation and for school climate surveys.

The new grading system has stirred controversy from parents and school officials across the state upset with how it works.

Much of that frustration has been aimed at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Sparks told audience members that the A-F grading system doesn’t work.

"We fail to recognize that when we label a school an F school or like mine a D school, we are really not helping the students at all," Sparks said. "We aren’t against accountability because we are very much in favor of accountability.

"Every year the Taft staff looks forward to looking at the scores because we know we are making a difference whether that test score shows it or not. But we still like that validation, but unfortunately A-F doesn’t provide that for us.

"It was very demoralizing for us."

Rep. Emily Virgin, D-Norman said the state Legislature passed the A-F grading system her first year in office. She said the new system was designed to make the grading program easier to understand.

"We (legislators) were told we needed something easier to understand for parents and teachers, so we switched to A-F," Virgin said. "I think the notion that this system is simpler is not true. When they look at the report card, they can’t really tell what is going on."

Robison said the new grading formula was designed in part to help school districts find their learning gaps and be able to become better schools as a result.

"We believe that a student should be able to reach proficiency," Robison said. "We needed to create a system that incentivizes a student to reach proficiency. We believe the A-F system does that."

Robison said the criticism aimed at the state education department is unfair.

"I think it is unfair for us at the state education department, particularly the employees in the accountability office, to be labeled as people that don’t care and don’t listen," Robison said.

Virgin said she understands the criticism of the new formula and says the Legislature needs to study the issue further before making any major changes to it.

"We are not necessarily the experts on these things," Virgin said. "I don’t think it is good policy for the Legislature to be tinkering with little parts of the formula every year. I think we have seen this year how that leads to bad outcomes. I think the Legislature needs to study this issue more. I don’t really think you want us tinkering with the formula every year."

Sparks said she encouraged audience members to visit with family, friends, co-workers and even their local legislators and educate them about the new grading system.

"Let your voices be heard," Sparks said.