Today @NCCapitol (May 7, 2015): Making the grades

The state Senate is getting ready to send Gov. Pat McCrory a bill that would freeze the state's school grading system in place for the coming year. The state House will take up a bill dealing with homeowner's insurance rate increases.

Posted 9:00 a.m. May 7, 2015 — Updated 3:40 p.m. May 11, 2015

Mark Binker

RALEIGH, N.C. — Good morning and welcome to Today @NCCapitol for Thursday, May 7. Here's what's going on at the General Assembly and around state government.

THE SENATE: Senators are scheduled to take up a bill that would freeze how North Carolina calculates its school report card grades. Currently, schools are assigned and A-F letter grade based on how well they score out of 100 points. Schools must earn 85 points to get an A, 75 points to get a B, etc. Schools must earn at least 40 points to stay above an F. Left unchanged, state law would tighten the grading to a 10-point scale, with a total score of 90 being the threshold for an A and many more schools receiving D and F grades.

While this bill is a one-year reprieve, it does not change the formula of how the numerical scores are calculated. Critics of the grading scale say it should give more emphasis to how much progress students make during the year rather than just raw test scores.

The Senate floor session is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

THE HOUSE: The state House Finance Committee is expected to take up a bill that would force insurance companies to be more transparent when they raise homeowner's premiums above the state-approved rate using "consent to rate" waivers. The floor session is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.

ADVOCATES: The N.C. Public Charter School Association will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. to talk about how the publicly funded but privately run schools are held financially accountable to the taxpayers.

THE GOVERNOR: Gov. Pat McCrory is scheduled to give the commencement address at Forsyth Community College.

Suggest A Correction