LIVINGSTON COUNTY — The new year brings some changes in how Michigan public schools are ranked.

Passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in May 2023, House Bill 4166 eliminates the grade system for public school rankings. Those rankings have traditionally been used by school administrators and parents to evaluate and compare the quality of public schools throughout the state.

While the bill, now in effect, repeals the current grading system for ranking schools, it preserves an index system for school measurement. The grading system ranked schools A-F in a process that’d been in place since 2018 when it was signed into law by former Gov. Rick Snyder.

Michigan’s school index system provides an overall score on a scale of 0 to 100 and separate ratings for student growth, proficiency and graduation. The system also grades each school numerically for English learner progress, attendance rates, postsecondary enrollment and staffing ratios.

Proponents of the system say it’s designed to comply with the U.S. Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires every state to have an accountability system for public schools.

Brighton Area Schools Superintendent Matt Outlaw likes how the new dashboard provides a variety of measures in one location. He prefers the use of raw scores.

“I think the dashboard provides access to a variety of valuable data for parents and the community,” he said.

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Hartland Consolidated Schools Superintendent Chuck Hughes agrees, saying the new system rated the district’s buildings fairly. Its comprehensive increase in the number of available ratings in multiple categories gives more information to all stakeholders and residents, he adds.

“We feel the new system hits all the main categories the community is interested in, and thinks are important,” Hughes said. He listed student proficiency, student growth, attendance and graduation rates as key categories.

School rankings under this system can be found at mischooldata.org/school-index.

Outlaw says his district’s leadership pays close attention to student data, particularly growth data for each individual student.

“Our teachers use this data to tailor instruction, to support student growth and to ensure that we’re challenging each student to reach beyond their grasp every day,” he said.

Hughes believes the added categories help increase transparency with families, something that’s always been a goal for Hartland Schools.

For data on how individual schools in the state have performed since 2001, visit tinyurl.com/ymhbu9rx.

— M. Alan Scott is a freelance writer for The Livingston Daily. Contact the newsroom at newsroom@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland, Brighton superintendents pleased with new state ranking system