Some kernels of wheat may be found among the report's chaff. If so, policymakers should take those critiques under advisement. But it would be a mistake to roll back this important reform and take years to implement a replacement (as endorsed by the report's authors), especially since the report says the state should make “explicit the limitations of the accountability system and warn of its inappropriate use for high-stakes decision making.” In other words, even after changing the system, they think state officials should loudly declare that the resulting school grades shouldn't be taken seriously.
Forsyth said, “Credible assessment is not controversial.” That's naive. The forces of the status quo — including many administrators funding this report — are certain to loudly criticize any system painting their districts in anything but glowing terms.
Professorial hired guns can give critics of the system a veneer of academic respectability. This doesn't mean they're right. A-F is a good reform increasing public awareness.
Policymakers shouldn't back away from it.
