A school’s pass rates on Standards of Learning tests used to be the sole determinant of its accreditation rating. Now it’s not so simple.

Starting this year, elementary and middle schools are being evaluated on proficiency and growth in English reading and writing achievement, including the progress of students learning English as a second language, as well as performance in math and science. Achievement gaps in English and math, along with absenteeism, will also be used to evaluate those schools.

Including student growth in its measurement system reflects stakeholder feedback the state collected as part of its creation of its ESSA plan, where growth measures “ranked favorably” among those who took a state survey.

The issue of whether to measure proficiency or growth has been debated in education for years. These changes continue measuring how many students pass the state standards, but also reward schools for helping students improve on the tests.

“By recognizing growth, the revised accreditation standards provide a fairer evaluation of schools serving at-risk students,” the department said in its description of the changes. “Under the previous accreditation system, these schools were subject to being perceived as ‘failing’ even if most students were making progress toward proficiency.”