Michigan school grades: state releases final A-F report, here's where your school ranks
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - As the calendar year wraps up, the state of Michigan has released its final A-F report card for all schools in the state. Starting in 2024, the grading system will be changed to an index system, as required by federal law.
The state has used the A-F system for the past four years to grade and rate schools throughout the state. While the A-F may feel familiar to school grades, it's not the same. See more about the breakdown of how A-F was determined below.
As we enter a new calendar year, the state of Michigan is moving on from the four-year-old system to the index, which is more in line with the parent dashboard.
How to use the Michigan School Data page
Michigan's School Index System provides an overall score on a scale of 0 to 100 with each school based on student growth, proficiency, graduation rates, English learner progress, attendance rates, advanced coursework completion, postsecondary enrollment, and staffing ratios.
Schools with low index values may be identified as a low-performing type, as defined by federal requirements.
Using the School Index to find your school is extremely simple.
On the state's page, in the 'search for a school' field, enter the name of your school. It will then deliver an overall report which starts with the overall index. This factors in the seven components listed above to get a final score. The report then displays the rest of the data.
The page isn't necessarily a place to determine if your school is good or bad. Instead, it's being made available to identify which schools need state or federal support.
Why did Michigan use the A-F grading system?
In the lame-duck session of 2018, Michigan lawmakers approved the A-F grading system for most schools in the state.
However, the Michigan State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education believe the system is unnecessary and duplicates information that is already available for parents. They also say that it's too complicated to distill schools down simply to letter grades.
The grading system issues a letter grade based on student proficiency, student growth, graduation, English learner progress, and performance among peers.
The table below from the Michigan School Grades FAQ page breaks it down a bit more.
The letter grade scale will still be available online and you can still search for how your school performed in the same categories.
Navigate to the state's letter grade page and search for your school by name. From there, you can review how your school is performing in these five categories.
But there's even more data from the state. You can view historical data for how your school has performed dating back to 2001.