Indiana education board releasing ‘A-F’ school grades

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s State Board of Education is set to release “A-F” school grades for the 2012-13 school year four months after a grade change scandal sparked a review of the grading system.

Schools are graded based on a series of factors including test scores, graduation rates and other performance measurements. The grades have become increasingly important factors recently in determining teacher pay, school funding and possible state takeover.

The board plans to release the grades when it meets Friday morning.

Former Indiana schools Superintendent Tony Bennett resigned as Florida schools chief in August after The Associated Press published emails showing he altered Indiana’s school grading formula to benefit a campaign donor’s charter school.

The new grades were calculated using the Bennett model, but education leaders are developing a new formula.