The release of the 2013-14 school year Unbridled Learning: College and Career Readiness results Friday indicates many bright spots for the schools in the Allen County School District. Overall, the Allen County School District is labeled as a “Proficient” District.
“All four schools and the district increased their overall score from last year,” Allen County Schools District Instructional Coordinator Chad Cooper said. “All four schools and the district increase their percentile rank from the previous year. The district is at the 71 percentile rank with three of our schools above that mark.”
Overall, the district’s score stands at 67.7 this year as compared to 63.8 last year. Allen County Schools is in the 71st percentile, a rise from last year when the district was ranked in the 42nd percentile.
“The Allen County School District performed better than 71 percent of all school districts in the state,” explained Allen County School Superintendent Randall Jackson.
Looking at the scores and levels of each school, the James E. Bazzell Middle School (JBMS) is classified as a “Proficient” school and just missed reaching the next level for school designation.
“The middle school just missed being a distinguished middle school by about a half of a point,” added Superintendent Jackson. “Being in the 89th percentile is really good. “
JBMS’s overall score increased by 4.6, rising from 66.8 last year to 71.4 this year. In terms of percentile rank, JBMS went from the 70th percentile last year to the 89th percentile this year---thus leaving the school still classified “Proficient” by the very small margin.
The Allen County Primary Center (ACPC) recorded the largest increase in overall score and greatest gain in percentile rank. The Primary Center’s score rose from 61.0 to 70.4---an increase of 9.4. The school also went from the 34th percentile last year to the 73rd percentile this year thus reflecting a 39 point increase in percentile rank. The results leaves the Primary Center classified as a “Proficient “ school---the designated for school at or above a 69.4 percentile level.
At Allen County-Scottsville High School (AC-SH), the overall score was 71.6 which is a 4.3 point increase from the 67.3 score a year ago. The high school’s percentile rank rose from the 54th percentile last year to the 74th percentile this year---leading the school classified as “Proficient”.
The Allen County Intermediate Center (ACIC) recorded a 6.8 percent increase in overall score---from 56.1 last year to 62.9 this year. ACIC jumped from the 19th percentile last year to the 40th percentile this year. The Intermediate Center is classified in the “Needs Improvement” category.
Cooper added that all four district schools met their annual measurable objectives and that all four schools met their participation goals.
Each school also showed improvements in various areas. At AC-SH, the school increased their graduation rate by .3 percent—a positive upward trend. In college and career readiness, the high school showed a 14.9 point increase.
“Students become college ready by meeting benchmarks in English, reading, math, and science areas on their ACT scores,” Cooper explained. “They can become deemed career ready by their results on the KOSA test and the industrial certificates they earn.”
The high school also met targets in reading, science, and social studies and increased their Program Review score---a score that is factored into the overall results for the school this year.
“Program Review is a change this year,” Cooper explained. “For the first time last year, program reviews were scored. Program Reviews are a set of standards in arts and humanities, practical living vocational studies, and writing. Each school self-accesses their programs in these areas. Last year at this time we just had the Next-Generation Learner scores. Later in November, we got the Program Review scores from the previous year. This year, the scores are combined. The Program Review Scores count 23 percent of the total and the Next Generation Learners scores count 77 percent.”
District Director of Instruction Rick Fisher noted that obtaining a Program Review score is a process that requires a school to document evidence used to set a score.
“Each school has to be able to provide the evidence of their score,” Fisher noted. “There is accountability; you just can’t give yourself any score. In the process, each school has to develop a growth plan. It’s actually a year-long process. Our program review teams works on each area and that actually has paid off in that our scores are up.”
The Next Generation Learners components include achievement measured at all schools, gap scores at all schools, growth areas assessed at all schools except the Primary center, college and career readiness at the middle and high schools, and graduation rates at the high school.
Positive overall results were also evident at the Bazzell Middle School.
“At Bazzell Middle School, we saw increased scores in achievement, gap scores, growth and career readiness,” Cooper said. “We saw an increase in the program review score. The school was also above the state average in reading, math, science, social studies as part of the overall achievement score and also above the state average in reading, math, science, and social studies as part of the overall gap scores.”
Gap scores are based on student Gap groups---an overall count of student groups that have historically had achievement gaps. Student groups combined include ethnicity/race (African American, Hispanic, Native American), Special Education, Poverty (free/reduced-price meals) and Limited English Proficiency that score at proficient or higher.
The middle school was also above the state averages in percentage of students meeting benchmarks in reading and math on the EXPLORE test--- a test eighth grade take that’s considered a pre-ACT test muck like the PLAN test taken by sophomores. The middle school also met delivery targets in reading and science and also increased their Program Review score---a score that is factored in to the overall score this year for the first time.
An increase in the Program Review score at the Intermediate Center was a highlight for the school along with increased in reading scores in reading, math, and science. Gap scores also increased at ACIC.
Third grade students tested at the Primary Center showed increased achievement scores in reading and math, increased gap scores in reading, and an increased in program review score. The school was also above the state average in reading and math in both achievement and gap scores. The school also met their delivery target for reading.
Overall, Allen County school officials were pleased with the results but quick to point out, work remains.
“A big part of these results is the growth score and when you apply that to the district, we are growing,” Cooper said. “Our scores are trending upward. To me, that’s an overall positive for our district. We are not where we want to be but if you look at where we were and where we are now, that’s a big positive for us.”
After looking at the results, District officials have indentified areas for growth. The list includes having all school at or above the Proficient level, be at or above the state average in reading and math at all schools, increasing the Gap scores at all schools, increasing the writing scores at ACIC, JBMS, and AC-SH, and seeing the high school meet their graduation goal.