The State Board of Education was right Wednesday in adopting the controversial plan to assign letter grades to Indiana schools.
"We have to be clear about how schools perform," Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett said. "That clarity is imperative."
So if Gov. Mitch Daniels approves the plan, as he is expected to do, schools will receive the same grades, A-F, given to their students. The current grades "exemplary progress," "commendable progress" and "academic progress" would become A, B and C.
Using the latest data available, about 47 percent of Indiana's schools would be graded D or F.
Teachers and school administrators are up in arms over this idea. More than 200 told the board they believe it's unfair to base a grade to an entire school based solely on one test given to the student body. More than 300 additional comments opposing the letter grades were sent via e-mail.
There are indeed some ways in which the evaluation system is unfair. Students with disabilities, for example, can affect a school's grade. That factor should be dealt with appropriately.
But the same school officials who note socioeconomic factors as affecting a school's performance don't take them into account when grading individual students, and with good reason. The central mission of a school is to educate its students. Some factors can make that goal more difficult to achieve, but the simple fact is that those factors must be overcome if students are to succeed in life.
Giving schools letter grades, just like the schools do for students, is a good way for communities to judge the schools' performance. It's also a good way for school officials to exhort the school community to provide the support necessary to turn these schools around.
School officials will need help to improve these schools. The status quo isn't good enough at schools facing difficulties. The public needs to know how well their schools are performing so they can know how dire the situation is.
We give the State Board of Education's plan an A.