A bill to pause the letter-grade rating system for public schools in Arkansas for the 2020-21 school year because of the covid-19 pandemic was passed by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.
Public schools did not receive the A through F rating for the 2019-20 school year because statewide student assessments were not administered as scheduled in April. The tests are a heavily weighted factor in determining a school’s rating.
Rep. Brian Evans, R-Cabot, the lead sponsor of House Bill 1151, said that though the state intends to administer the assessments this year, the pandemic continues to disrupt education and worrying about the ratings would present an additional stressor for educators.
“We’re not even sure what’s going to happen next week with this virus,” Evans said.