Oklahoma Schools' A-F Report Cards Delayed By More Corrections

The State Department of Education said Friday it is delaying the release of the A-F Report Cards for Oklahoma schools and school districts.

"In an abundance of caution, the State Department of Education is going to take additional time to guarantee absolute, 100-percent accuracy of the grades," said state Superintendent Janet Barresi.

The grades will be presented to the State Board of Education during a special meeting sometime in early November, instead of at its meeting on October 29. They will be made public sometime after that.

10/24/2013 Related Story: TPS Superintendent Blasts State's A-F Report Cards In Letter To Parents

The A-F system has been plagued by problems since the preliminary grades were posted earlier this month. An error in the calculation of the scores meant many schools saw their grades change several times within the first few days that they were posted online.

"Despite two periods in which school districts were to certify assessment results as well as the current review underway, our assessment office is still receiving a number of corrections and changes. To say this has been frustrating is putting it mildly. The A-F Report Cards are too critical a tool for parents and communities to accept anything less than quality."

The A-F Report Card system is meant to be an easily understood snapshot of Oklahoma schools' performance.

Also this week, researchers at Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma released the findings of a study, which discredited the grading system. OU and OSU scholars determined even the modified letter grade system "has very little meaning" for school evaluation, "hides important differences" between schools with different grades, and "has practically no meaning or utility" for parents or policy makers.

10/23/2013 Related Story: University Study Discredits Oklahoma's A-F Grading System For Schools