OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted unanimously to suspend the state’s system of student assessments and the statewide accountability system, otherwise known as report cards.

This vote impacts the 2020-2021 school year.

Schools will not be given letter grades on the School Report Cards system.

The system grades the schools themselves in an effort to hold school districts and students accountable.

Board members cited the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools and students, saying it isn’t fair to assess them when there is so much uncertainty this year.

Because some school districts are in-person, some are both virtual and in-person and others are strictly distance learning, the board expressed concerns that assessing students equally is not possible.

According to the board, the academic growth this school year cannot be assessed because last year the schools did not conduct state testing. After Thursday’s vote, the same will hold true for next year.

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister’s Office continues to have ongoing communications with other states and national advisors on how best to address accountability.

Other board members argued that the baseline from which to measure schools and student growth in 2021/22 will not be possible without a baseline set in 2020-2021.

Cox Media Group