A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to modify the CALCULATION of school performance grades and to provide notice to the public on the method of calculation of school performance grades.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑47(58) reads as rewritten:
"(58)	To Inform the Public About the North Carolina School Report Cards Issued by the State Board of Education. – Each local board of education shall ensure that the report card issued for it by the State Board of Education receives wide distribution to the local press or is otherwise provided to the public. Each local board of education shall ensure that the overall school performance score and grade earned by each school in the local school administrative unit for the current and previous four school years is prominently displayed on the Web site of the local school administrative unit. Any publication of the annual report card shall include an explanation of the method of calculation and compilation of school performance data and associated school performance grades with a translation of this explanatory information in Spanish. If any school in the local school administrative unit is awarded a grade of D or F, the local board of education shall provide notice of the grade in writing to the parent or guardian of all students enrolled in that school."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑83.15 reads as rewritten: 
"§ 115C‑83.15.  School achievement, growth, performance scores, and grades.
(a)	School Scores and Grades. – The State Board of Education shall award school achievement, growth, and performance scores and an associated performance grade as required by G.S. 115C‑12(9)c1., and calculated as provided in this section. The State Board of Education shall enter all necessary data into the Education Value‑Added Assessment System (EVAAS) in order to calculate school performance scores and grades.
(b)	Calculation of the School Achievement Score. – In calculating the overall school achievement score earned by schools, the State Board of Education shall total the sum of points earned by a school on all of the following indicators that are measured for that school:
(1)	One point for each percent of students who score at or above proficient on annual assessments for mathematics in grades three through eight.
(2)	One point for each percent of students who score at or above proficient on annual assessments for reading in grades three through eight.
(3)	One point for each percent of students who score at or above proficient on annual assessments for science in grades five and eight.
(4)	One point for each percent of students who score at or above proficient on the Algebra I or Integrated Math I end‑of‑course test.
(5)	One point for each percent of students who score at or above proficient on the English II end‑of‑course test.
(6)	One point for each percent of students who score at or above proficient on the Biology end‑of‑course test.
(7)	One point for each percent of students who complete Algebra II or Integrated Math III with a passing grade.
(8)	One point for each percent of students who achieve the minimum score required for admission into a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina on a nationally normed test of college readiness.
(9)	One point for each percent of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education courses who meet the standard when scoring at Silver, Gold, or Platinum levels on a nationally normed test of workplace readiness.
(10)	One point for each percent of students who graduate within four years of entering high school.
In calculating the overall school achievement score earned by schools, the State Board of Education shall (i) use a composite approach to weigh the achievement elements based on the number of students measured by any given achievement element and (ii) proportionally adjust the scale to account for the absence of a school achievement element for award of scores to a school that does not have a measure of one of the school achievement elements annually assessed for the grades taught at that school. The overall school achievement score shall be translated to a 100‑point scale and used for school reporting purposes as provided in G.S. 115C‑12(9)c1., 115C‑218.65, and 115C‑238.66.
(c)	Calculation of the School Growth Score. – Using EVAAS, the State Board shall calculate the overall growth score earned by schools. In calculating the total growth score earned by schools, the State Board of Education shall weight student growth on the achievement indicators as provided in subsection (b) of this section that have available growth values. The numerical values used to determine whether a school has met, exceeded, or has not met expected growth shall be translated to a 100‑point scale and used for school reporting purposes as provided in G.S. 115C‑12(9)c1., 115C‑218.65, and 115C‑238.66.
(c1)	Calculation of Student Growth for Lowest Performing Students from the Prior Year. – Using EVAAS, the State Board of Education shall calculate a student growth score for the twenty percent (20%) of the lowest performing students at each school based on the percentage of student growth on the achievement indicators as provided in subsection (b) of this section that have available growth values for students identified by prior year performance on those achievement indicators.
(c2)	Calculation of Additional Criteria Identified by the State Board of Education. – The State Board of Education shall identify additional criteria for inclusion in the calculation of the overall school performance grade to adequately represent a school's ability to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment to all children and to address the strategic goals established by the State Board of Education to measure school performance. By January 15 of each year, the State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the identification of additional criteria and the calculation of scores in relation to those criteria for inclusion in the total school performance score under subsection (d) of this section.
(d)	Calculation of the School Performance Scores and Grades. – The State Board of Education shall use EVAAS to calculate the school performance score by adding the school achievement score, as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the school growth score, as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the student growth score for the twenty percent (20%) of the lowest performing students, as provided in subsection (c1) of this section, and the score for additional criteria as identified by the State Board, as provided in subsection (c2) of this section, earned by a school. The school achievement score shall account for forty percent (40%), the student growth score for the lowest performing students shall account for twenty percent (20%), the score for additional criteria shall account for twenty percent (20%), and the school growth score shall account for twenty percent (20%) of the total sum. For all schools, the total school performance score shall be converted to a 100‑point scale and used to determine a school performance grade based on the following scale:
(1)	A school performance score of at least 90 is equivalent to an overall school performance grade of A.
(2)	A school performance score of at least 80 is equivalent to an overall school performance grade of B.
(3)	A school performance score of at least 70 is equivalent to an overall school performance grade of C.
(4)	A school performance score of at least 60 is equivalent to an overall school performance grade of D.
(5)	A school performance score of less than 60 is equivalent to an overall school performance grade of F.
(e)	Elementary and Middle School Reading and Math Achievement Scores. – For schools serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade, the school achievement scores in reading and mathematics, respectively, shall be reported separately on the annual school report card provided under G.S. 115C‑12(9)c1., 115C‑218.65, and 115C‑238.66.
(f)	Indication of Growth. – In addition to awarding the overall school scores for achievement, growth, and performance and the performance grade, using EVAAS, the State Board shall designate that a school has met, exceeded, or has not met expected growth. The designation of overall school student growth shall be clearly displayed in the annual school report card provided under G.S. 115C‑12(9)c1., 115C‑218.65, and 115C‑238.66."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑218.65 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑218.65.  North Carolina School Report Cards.
A charter school shall ensure that the report card issued for it by the State Board of Education receives wide distribution to the local press or is otherwise provided to the public. A charter school shall ensure that the overall school performance score and grade earned by the charter school for the current and previous four school years is prominently displayed on the school Web site. Any publication of the annual report card shall include an explanation of the method of calculation and compilation of school performance data and associated school performance grades with a translation of this explanatory information in Spanish. If a charter school is awarded a grade of D or F, the charter school shall provide notice of the grade in writing to the parent or guardian of all students enrolled in that school."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 115C‑238.66(11) reads as rewritten:
"(11)	North Carolina School Report Cards. – A regional school shall ensure that the report card issued for it by the State Board of Education receives wide distribution to the local press or is otherwise provided to the public. A regional school shall ensure that the overall school performance score and grade earned by the regional school for the current and previous four school years is prominently displayed on the school Web site. Any publication of the annual report card shall include an explanation of the method of calculation and compilation of school performance data and associated school performance grades with a translation of this explanatory information in Spanish. If a regional school is awarded a grade of D or F, the regional school shall provide notice of the grade in writing to the parent or guardian of all students enrolled in that school."
SECTION 5.  Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑83.15(c2), as enacted by this act, by November 15, 2016, the State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on any additional criteria identified by the State Board for inclusion in the calculation of school performance grades and the method for calculation of scores in accordance with the purposes set forth in G.S. 115C‑83.15.
SECTION 6.  This act is effective when it becomes law.