Mississippi Department of Education Changing School Rating System

Good afternoon,

I wanted to take today – report card day – to share with you some changes our state department has made to the upcoming school report card. As you listen to the news every year our state is making adjustments and changes to our accountability system. This system is the one that assigns grades to our schools and districts. This past year I cannot tell you how proud we were to earn a B at Brookhaven High School. Our staff and students worked incredibly hard and not only earned a B but were well into the B category!

The state has decided to re-write what it takes to make a grade for this year. Below are the changes put in place. This data is available on the Mississippi Department of Education website.

CHANGES FOR HIGH SCHOOL SCORES: High Schools had the most dramatic change in their requirements.

GRADES FOR HIGH SCHOOLS	2016-17 grades	2017-18	CHANGES
A	738 or higher	787 or higher	INCREASED 49 points
B	626-737	679 – 786	INCREASED 53 points
C	552-625	612-678	INCREASED 60 points
D	470-551	547-611	INCREASED 77 points
F	Less than 470	Less than 547	INCREASED 77 points

Using the exact same data we earned from last year we would be C in the “new” system. I just wanted you all to be aware that our staff and students are continuing to work hard but the bar is always on the move. I appreciate the opportunity to work with each of you every day and look forward to working together to keep BHS moving forward.

CHANGES FOR ELEMENTARY SCORES:

GRADES FOR ELEM SCHOOLS	2016-17 grades	2017-18	CHANGES
A	455 or higher	442 or higher	DECREASED 13 points
B	385-454	377-441	DECREASED 8 points
C	330-384	328-376	DECREASED 2 points
D	277-329	269-327	DECREASED 8 points
F	Less than 277	Less than 269	DECREASED 8 points

CHANGES FOR DISTRICT SCORES:

GRADES FOR ELEM SCHOOLS	2016-17 grades	2017-18	CHANGES
A	672 or higher	668 or higher	DECREASED 4 points
B	588-671	599-667	INCREASED 11 points
C	523-587	536-598	INCREASED 13 points
D	464-522	489-535	INCREASED 25 points
F	Less than 464	Less than 489	INCREASED 25 points