But hidden within the disappointing classification is the district’s tenth-of-a-point improvement over last year, and four-tenths of a point improvement from the ’06-’07 school year.
But from the district’s overall “excellent“ improvement rating last year, it dropped two brackets this year to “average.“
But district officials are happy with at least some of the results.
Though the district is still working on improving several low-scoring schools, its high schools have shown significant improvement in on-time graduation rates from 68.9 percent to this year’s 81.6 percentage. The jump significantly boosts schools overall scores.
“That is the great news to me,“ says Cynthia Downs, district assistant superintendent of instruction.
But to examine the report cards, it’s good to first know the lingo.
CARDED Instead of typical report card A-though-F grades, school report cards use a grade range of “excellent,“ “good,“ “average,“ “below average“ and “at risk.“ “At risk“ was previously called “unsatisfactory.“
On a school’s report card, two major areas are graded.
The first measurement, the “Absolute Rating“ grade, shows student performance using mainly PACT scores, high school students’ exit exams and graduation rates.
The second grade, the “Growth Rating,“ shows if students, schools or districts made improvements from the previous year. “Growth Rating“ is a switch from what was called an “Improvement Rating“ in past years.
Schools earn “index“ points from improvement and test performance that then fall into one of the five grade brackets.
THE GOOD...
District highlights are in the high school section of Whitmire Community School’s perfect scores of “excellent“ for both its testing and improvement.
The Career Center also received an “excellent“ score for its students’ performance.
Career Center Director Henry “Buddy” Livingston says the school scored well because of several factors, one being the teamwork between Newberry’s three county high schools.
The Career Center has alternative learning programs like engineering and cosmetology, and students can travel from their home high school to take classes there.
“I think it’s a major team effort between the local high schools, the guidance counselors at the high schools who properly placed the students in the programs, the students’ efforts, and of course, I can not say enough about the instructors here,“ says Livingston. “It says a lot about the administrative staff that has been in place here. They follow up with the kids and stay on top of them and make sure they’re meeting all the criteria.“
Other notable scores are Little Mountain Elementary and Mid-Carolina High’s “good“ testing scores; and Newberry High, Pomaria-Garmany and the Career Center’s “good“ improvement scores.
Plus, the district’s on-time graduation rate for high schools has improved to 81 percent. Other districts across the state with similar poverty rates—a factor said to affect graduation and testing—shows 77 percent passage.
“We’re happy about our high schools,“ says Downs. “We’re very pleased.“
Downs credits successful graduation rates mainly to schools providing a second-chance learning opportunity known as “content recovery.”
Students who have not absorbed classroom instruction get another shot at learning lessons like algebra in a lab setting.
A proctor oversees a classroom where students work individually on computers to catch up with their classmates on a subject.
“They can literally get back on track,“ Downs says. “It’s given us different venues for the students to be successful.“
Phased into the district about three years ago, the content recovery software program was largely a one-time expense that won’t likely suffer budget cuts, says Downs.
... AND THE NOT-SO-GOOD
But three schools within the district received a lowest possible “at risk“ score for either testing or improvement ratings.
Newberry Elementary earned “at risk“ for both its scores.
“Well, we don’t like it,“ says Downs. “The schools are very much aware of what these ratings are and what they say to the public.“
To improve, schools are looking at specific problem areas highlighted by achievement test scores.
The district is also working with teachers to make sure what needs to be taught is taught, and at a high enough grade level to match state and national tests.
“We’ve done a lot of work this year as a district on assessment and we’ve learned that in some cases, our classroom (tests) were not really assessing in the way we thought they were,“ says Downs. “While teachers have been teaching the standards, we’re working hard with them to make sure they are teaching to the level of those standards.“
TOUGH TWEAKS Another challenge schools face with report cards is the state’s much-vaunted, but demanding, hurdles.
Like other law-required test scores, school report cards have a goal that is gradually tougher to meet.
South Carolina wants all its students to be ranked in the top half of states nationally by 2010.
“To achieve this goal, we must become one of the fastest-improving systems in the county,“ the state says.
And they mean fast.
Yearly, the brackets of “excellent,“ “good,“ “average,“ “below average“ and “at risk“ shift up by a 10th, says Downs.
So the same school score that might have fit in the “excellent“ category last year, may land in the lower “good“ category this year.
“As the bar goes up, if you stay the same, your rating will decrease over a period of years,“ says Downs. “And if you increase, at a slower rate at least, it’s difficult to get to that next rating.“
Yet, Downs says the schools are still struggling to clear the raised bar and are never taking their eyes off the 2010 goal.
“They are working very very hard,“ she says.
To see all schools’ scores in the district, visit http://ed.sc.gov/topics/researchandstats/schoolreportcard/2008/
THE GRADES...
Instead of A-though-F grades, school report cards use the following criteria:
Excellent – School performance substantially exceeds the standards for progress toward the 2010 S.C. Performance Goal.
Good – School performance exceeds the standards for progress toward the 2010 S.C. Performance Goal.
Average – School performance meets the standards for progress toward the 2010 S.C.Performance Goal.
Below Average – School is in jeopardy of not meeting the standards for progress toward the 2010 S.C. Performance Goal.
At Risk (formerly Unsatisfactory) – School performance fails to meet the standards for progress toward the 2010 S.C. Performance Goal
—Data from the South Carolina
Education Oversight Committee
A PEEK INSIDE...
To make sure teachers are teaching what they should and students are learning what they can, in 1998, a South Carolina law said each public school must have a report card grade.
If all goes as planned, the report cards are released in early November each year.
A further breakdown of absolute testing scores:
“Absolute” scores are drawn from multiple sources, largely pulling from test assessments like PACT for grades third through eighth.
For high school students, the scores come from the high school exit exam or HSAP, which only measures English language arts and mathematics and end-of-course tests which measure English 1, algebra 1, physical science and U.S. history.
“What happens is you weigh all of these performances plus the graduation rate,” says Downs. “Each of them is weighted differently and then they go into a formula. Then you come out with these weighted index points and then they round it to the nearest 10th.”
More on growth scores, formerly called “improvement” ratings:
When calculating growth grades, students’ scores are compared from year to year.
“You’re looking at matched students. You match student-for-student for your improvement rating,” says Downs.
For example, a boy in the third grade has his score compared to what it was last year in the second grade.
“They match the kids, except at the high school level, because they can’t match the kids on the exit exam because you only have one shot at passing both parts one time,” says Downs. “You have this multi-step process for showing improvement.”
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