By Mackenzie Mays
Under a new school accountability system for Fresno Unified, a school with the best test scores may not be labeled as the best school in the district.
The first-ever results from the new student achievement formula for CORE districts were released on Tuesday. The system focuses on factors in addition to academics, including chronic absenteeism, suspensions and expulsions, and English proficiency for students whose first language is not English.
CORE districts, including Fresno Unified, Los Angeles Unified and San Francisco Unified, received a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements and designed their own formula for how to rate schools. Under the formula, academics account for 60 percent of student progress and “social-emotional and culture-climate” factors account for 40 percent.
The new system also focuses on subpopulations of students, allowing schools to better track minorities, English learners and other groups.
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