School report cards are out. The scores from Watonga Elementary show 60% of the students are prepared to move to the next grade, while the state scored a 49%.
In academic growth, 72% of WES students are growing compared to their performance the year previous. Statewide, 60% showed growth.
English language proficiency progress shows 31% of the school meeting their language acquisition targets. This is includes only students who are learning English as an additional language. Statewide the score is a little higher, at 32.5% of students hitting the mark.
In Watonga, 92.64% of students attend school regularly, outdistancing the state score of 80.5%.
The indicators show that Watonga Elementary School has an overall performance of ‘B.’
Watonga Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran said he and the administration were pleased with the report. “We are very excited about the growth, with the elementary increasing nine points from a ‘C’ to a ‘B’,” he wrote.
At Watonga Middle School, academic achievement showed 58% of students ready to move to the next grade as opposed to 49% statewide. Students showed a 73% growth rate when compared to their last year’s assessment. Statewide the number continuing to grow was 60%. Among those learning English, 52% met their goals, while statewide only 32% did so. Only 75.64% of students in Watonga Middle attended school regularly, while 80.5% did so statewide. Overall, the middle school performed at a ‘B’ level, the same score as the elementary school. The report shows the school offers fine arts and tech or industrial education.
“Our middle school improved 17 points from a C to a B.
These improvements were made in the first year of implementing our professional learning community, where we believe all students can learn and that we all are learners. We believe that working together in our teams through collaboration is key to success, and where the decision we make about student learning will be based on data,” Hilterbran wrote.
The report card shows Watonga High School offering advanced placement courses, agriculture, career tech, fine arts and world languages as enrichment programs.
The high school assessment is a tool Hilterbran feels his district can put to good use. “Our goal at WPS is for all students to either enroll in a concurrent class, class at vo tech, or join a business in a mentorship program before they graduate high school.,” he wrote.
ACT scores show which students are ready to tackle dual enrollment and not need remedial classes if they decide to pursue a college degree.
It also showed 47% of students prepared for the next level of education, edged out by the state numbers at 49%. WHS shows 100% graduation rates at four years, 94% in five years and 96% in six years. The state scores are 80%, 84% and 85%, respectively. No data was shown for English proficiency, but 86.84% of the students attend regularly, as contrasted to the state at 80.5%. The school was rated at 49% of students being helped to gain early college and career exposure, with the state earning a 47%. Overall, the school was graded at a ‘C,’ up eight points from last year.
Hilterbran noted that there are some shortcomings in the report card package. He feels schools with high numbers of economically disadvantaged students and those whose communities and families have fewer resources compare poorly to more affluent schools.
Canton Elementary showed a 37% rate for students ready to move to the next grade, 55% showing year-over-year academic growth, and 81% attending school regularly. There was no data on English learners progress. The school earned a ‘C.’ Canton High School offers ag, career tech, computer science, industrial arts and technology and world languages. Fifty-nine percent of students were ready to move to the next grade and graduation rates were 96%,97% and 94% for years four, five and six. There were 74.7% of students with good attendance but only 25% were helped with early exposure to college or career opportunities. Overall, the school came away with a ‘C’ grade.
At Geary Elementary School, a mere 26% of students were prepared to advance to the next grade and only 39% showed growth year-over-year. However, 37% of English language learners reached their goals, well over the state level of 32%. Some 59.46% were in good attendance, but the school only pulled down a ‘D’ grade.
At Geary Middle School, 17% of students were considered ready to move to the next grade level, while only 32% showed growth year over year. There were 80.33% of students regularly in class but the grade remained a ‘D.’
Geary High School offers ag, career tech, internships, fine arts and world languages. The score card shows 24% of students are ready to move to the next grade, and 68% graduate in four years. The graduation rate climbs to 91% by year five and finishes out year six with 85% rate.
None of the English learners reached their goals, which indicates the data may be corrupted and 27.7% of all students were chronically absent from school. Twenty-six percent of the students were helped gain exposure to college and career options early in their high school career, but the school still performed at a ‘D’ level.
Geary Superintendent Sean Buchanan is of the opinion this set of report cards may have used a different calculation to arrive at its conclusions. They are a way for the state to show it wants to comply with federal law, and it isn’t always applicable to all schools.
“For example, ACT scores are taken into account, but (here) the ACT is seen as something of a college entry exam. We have students who do not wish to pursue college as the next step in their lives,” he wrote.
Additionally, Buchanan pointed out that absenteeism is controlled by the parents, not the school. Another argument he has is that if a student enrolls at a district, then moves away, leaving no contact information, that student is considered a non-graduate of the district, even if he or she was only there a few days.
Okeene Elementary School showed 61% of its students ready to climb to the next grade level, with 72% showing growth year over year. English learners hit 47% of their goals and 92.5% were in class regularly. The school earned a ‘B’ overall.
Forty-six percent of middle school students were ready to move up a grade at Okeene Junior High, while 45% showed year-over-year growth. No data was available for English learner proficiency, 90.16% were in school regularly and the school rated a ‘C’ overall.
Okeene Senior High showed 86% of its students tested ready to move to the next grade, 94% graduated in four years, 95% by five years and 99% by year six. No data was collected on the English proficiency of students but 82.35 % were in school regularly.
Fourteen percent were exposed to college or career opportunities early in high school and the school ranked a ‘B’ grade overall.
Hydro-Eakly elementary scored an ‘A’ grade; the middle school earned a ‘B’ and the high school logged a ‘C’ overall.
Calumet earned a ‘B’ for the elementary school and a ‘ B’ overall for the high school as well.
While report cards are a significant part of the education picture in a community, Buchanan summed up the reality very well.
“If community members or parents want to know how their student is doing, I encourage them to reach out to the student’s teacher. That is the individual who truly knows how the child is doing. If they want a perspective on the health of the district, I would love to provide that to them.”