The Michigan Department of Education has revealed its list of "Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools" (follow the link to see the list - it's an excel spreadsheet).
The annual listing is required by state law. The state started the PLA listing last year, when 92 schools were called out.
This ranking is separate from the "Adequate Yearly Progress" goals required by the No Child Left Behind law.
The Detroit News reports that Detroit has the most schools on the list:
...with 38 schools, down from 40 in 2010... Overall, 53 school districts in the state had schools on the lowest-achieving list, up from 48. There were 40 new schools on the list, while 34 were taken off.
And here's coverage of the schools that made the list in Lansing, Washtenaw County, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, and Genesee County.
Officials at the Michigan Department of Education say the schools were identified using federally-prescribed and approved formula that "considers student proficiency levels and academic improvement rates in math and reading only; whether a school is in one of the three federal school sanctions levels (corrective action, restructuring, or improvement); and whether a secondary school had a graduation rate below 60 percent."
Once a school is on the list, school officials have to submit a redesign plan to the state by November 28.
The plan will be reviewed by a "School Reform Officer."
Redesign plans must follow one of four models:
- Transformation
- Turnaround
- Restart
- Closure
From the MDE press release:
The school remains under the supervision of the School Reform Officer until the School Reform Officer determines it has made significant improvement in pupil achievement and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction releases it from the measures that have been imposed under state law.
