Lindberg board raises concerns about proposed statewide A–F school grading plan

Lindberg Schools board members and district leaders spent the bulk of meeting 1635 discussing a proposed statewide A–F school grading plan and its potential effects on the district.

Dr. Sparks, who led the presentation, described the two main policy drivers under consideration: a gubernatorial executive order and House Bill 2710. She said the proposals would create an A–F scale that applies both to individual schools and to districts, add a growth-to-proficiency metric for K–8, and tie some rewards and transparency requirements to those ratings. Dr. Sparks told the board the legislature’s work could change in the coming days and months and that the district did not expect the system to be implemented for the 2026–27 school year.

Dr. Sparks said the bill as discussed during the presentation would use existing assessment data—MAP growth measures for K–8 and end-of-course or college-readiness indicators for high school—and would allocate a capped percentage of schools to each letter grade. "Only 10% of schools could be designated as A schools," she said, summarizing the percentile-based approach described in the bill, and warned that private-school opt-ins could change that distribution.

Board members and staff voiced multiple concerns during the discussion: that percentile caps could distort incentives, that using a single high-stakes metric risks misrepresenting student learning, and that statewide labels could harm intra-district cohesion. One board member warned that framing school success on a curved A–F scale "pits the schools against each other," undermining collaboration within communities. Another asked what specific supports would follow if the state labeled a school or district as failing.

Joel, who spoke about district implementation capacity, noted Lindberg has already invested in local improvement work (for example, hiring a math coordinator) and emphasized the district will continue to use multiple measures locally. He also pointed to the district’s ongoing real-world and competency-based learning initiatives that, he said, do not always lend themselves to simple letter grades.

The board also discussed recent and anticipated changes at the state agency level; Dr. Sparks noted the department’s commissioner had announced her resignation effective June 30 and said that turnover would complicate state-level implementation timelines.

Why it matters: Lindberg leaders said the proposed A–F framework could shift public attention to a single, comparative measure even as the district continues to invest in growth, equity and real-world learning. The board directed staff to continue monitoring legislative changes, prepare communication for families about potential impacts, and run simulated drafts if state release of data and timelines allow.

Next steps: Dr. Sparks said the district will continue to analyze proposed rules and keep the board and community informed; she forecast that an initial public release of any A–F designations would not occur until fall 2027 if the state proceeds on the timeline discussed.