Federal officials are expected to approve Louisiana's request to shelve public school letter grades amid declining test scores blamed on the corona virus pandemic, according to The Advocate.
If so, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is prepared to finalize the move during a committee meeting Tuesday and by the full board on Wednesday.
The grades, which have sparked controversy for years, are usually released in November and show how students fared on key tests as well as how school districts compare with each other.
But education leaders have complained for months that it would be unfair to assign grades to public schools and school systems after 18 months of upheaval in the classroom caused by the pandemic.
The Aug. 3 release of all-important test scores from the spring – called LEAP 2025 – showed scores in math, English, science and social studies fell in virtually all of the state's 69 school districts.
That all but ensured public school letter grades would plummet as well.
BESE voted a few weeks later to ask the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver that would largely set aside Louisiana's public school accountability system for the 2020-21 school year.
State officials are awaiting an answer from the federal agency.
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