OSDE Releases 2014 'A-F Report Cards'

The Oklahoma Board of Education certified report cards for nearly 1,800 Oklahoma schools on Wednesday.

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), the 2014 grades show 16.1 percent of Oklahoma schools received “A's,” 26.4 percent scored a “B” and 28 percent scored a “C.” More than one-quarter of Oklahoma's public schools received a “D” or “F” grade. Two percent did not receive a letter grade.

Eighty Oklahoma City schools were graded on the A-F Report Card Grading System. Four Oklahoma City schools were graded with an “A,” 41 with an “F.” Six fell within the “B” range and 29 in the “C - D” range.

All Edmond schools fell in the “A - B” range.

View all 2014 report cards.

“The report card is a measurement for challenging students and communities to strengthen the effectiveness and performance of public schools,” as stated on the OSDE's website.

OKCPS Superintendent Rob Neu provided the following statement Wednesday:

"The information provided on the A-F School Report Cards is a benchmark and only one measure of what student success looks like. Oklahoma City Public School staff will continue to connect with students as true partners in their education by building relationships; by doing so the test results will take care of themselves. OKCPS will not focus on standardized testing or state report cards. Instead our focus is on engaging our students and parents; as well as providing additional resources to our teachers to improve the academic achievement of our students."

Governor Mary Fallin also released a statement regarding the release of the 2014 A-F report cards:

“Oklahoma has great teachers and administrators, and they have my thanks for the difficult, important job they are doing.

The A-F grading system is designed to empower parents by providing them with an easily understood measurement of how a school is performing. This year's grades demonstrate that Oklahoma has hundreds of “A” schools and many pockets of excellence. It also continues to show – as we have known for years – that there are many schools that are struggling. The superintendents and teachers of schools receiving a D or an F must remember: a bad grade is not a punishment; it is a call to action. Parents should also understand that we are absolutely committed to helping these schools succeed in the future.

Knowing where we have difficulties is the first step in working towards improvement. The challenge now is to rally around those schools and the students in them to improve results. That will take an all-hands-on-deck effort, with parents, teachers, administrators, and local and state governments working together.

I am confident that we can successfully improve public education in Oklahoma. Doing so will require the development of robust, Oklahoma academic standards to replace Common Core, which are being developed now. It will also require more financial resources in addition to the $150 million in increased funding provided in the last two years. Moving forward I am committed to delivering those resources, some of which I would like to see go towards pay-raises for teachers, so we can attract and retain the best and brightest professionals to our classrooms.

Nothing is more important to the future of Oklahoma than succeeding at improving education.”