Signed by Governor Bob McDonnell

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the development of an A-to-F letter grading system for evaluating individual public schools.

Highlights:

• Requires the Board of Education to assign a grade from “A” to “F” to individual public schools for the 2013-2014 school year based on state and federal requirements, whereas existing standards are assigned by accreditation labels (Sec. 1).

• Specifies the following criteria for letter grades (Sec. 1):
• “A” indicates a school has full accreditation, meets all federal annual measurable objectives, and scored at least a 25 percent advanced proficiency pass rate on state assessments in each content area;
• “B” indicates a school has full accreditation and scored an advanced proficiency pass rate less than 25 percent;
• “C” indicates a school received a rating of accredited with warning in 1 content area only;
• “D” indicates a school received an accreditation with more than 1 warning, received a rating of provisionally accredited graduation rate, or is a priority school that was not denied accreditation or received conditional accreditation; and
• “F” indicates a school has conditional or no accreditation.

• Requires the Board of Education to make the respective grades available to the public and provide a general summary of the system to the General Assembly and public by October 2013 (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Board of Education to assign grades based on “student growth” as defined by the following criteria (Sec. 1):
• Students moving to a higher performance level on state assessments or additional assessments approved by the Board;
• Students maintaining a proficient or advanced proficient performance level on state assessments; or
• Students making significant improvements within the below basic or basic level of performance in reading or mathematics assessments as determined by the Board.

• Rep. Betsy B. Carr is not listed on our vote breakdown because her vote did not accurately reflect her intentions; she initially did not vote but voted “Nay” after the roll call.

• Rep. Barbara J. Comstock is not listed on our vote breakdown because her vote did not accurately reflect her intentions; she initially did not vote but voted “Yea” after the roll call.

• Rep. Mark Dudenhefer is not listed on our vote breakdown because his vote did not accurately reflect his intentions; he initially did not vote but voted “Nay” after the roll call.

• Rep. Terry G. Kilgore is not listed on our vote breakdown because his vote did not accurately reflect his intentions; he initially voted “Nay” but changed his vote to “Yea” after the roll call.

• Rep. Kaye L. Kory is not listed on our vote breakdown because her vote did not accurately reflect her intentions; she initially voted “Yea” but changed her vote to “Nay” after the roll call.

• Rep. Scott L. Lingamfelter is not listed on our vote breakdown because his vote did not accurately reflect his intentions; he initially did not vote but voted “Nay” after the roll call.

• Rep. Christopher K. Peace is not listed on our vote breakdown because his vote did not accurately reflect his intentions; he initially voted “Yea” but changed his vote to “Nay” after the roll call.

• Rep. Thomas C. Wright Jr. is not listed on our vote breakdown because his vote did not accurately reflect his intentions; he initially voted “Yea” but changed his vote to “Nay” after the roll call.

Full Bill Text