Over all Highlights The Oklahoma State Department of Education issued 1,734 public school report cards, up from 1,723 last year. Some schools did not receive grades because their student population is too small to fit the metrics for grading.
Although three fewer schools received a failing grade, more schools earned D grades than in 2024.
Two bright spots are that English grades showed improvement and graduation rates were higher than last year. The downside is that only 26% of students were considered proficient in ELA (English Language Arts) and math, while 30% were rated proficient in science.
More than half (56%) showed academic growth and 34% of English learners – those students whose first language is something other than English – are on track to meet language acquisition goals.
More than half of juniors and seniors had taken part in early college or career exploration or learning and 81% of students were in school on a regular basis. Chronic absenteeism is set to be removed from the analysis of schools in 2025-26.
Graduation rates are still lagging, with 82% graduating in four years as part of the class of 2024. The goal is 90%.
In Calumet Elementary School, students earned 75% of the points available in academic achievement, down 7.8% from last year. However, it still stacked up well when compared to other schools in the state, which earned 41%. CES achieved a ‘B’ grade in this category.
In academic growth, half the students showed growth compared to last year, down schoolwide by 3.2%. It is also slightly below the state average of 56%, up from last year by 3%. CES earned a ‘C’ in this category. 94.77% of Calumet Elementary students were in school regularly, compared to 80.9% statewide, earning a ‘B.’ The school earned an overall grade of ‘B.’
At the high school, academic achievement was rated at a ‘C’ grade, at 46% of points earned. Graduation rates are at 87%, a ‘B’ up 3.8% from last year, compared to the 59% statewide average.
Chronic absenteeism is basically nil, with more than 95% of students in school regularly. This is an ‘A’ grade, up almost 12% from last year and well over the 80% statewide rate.
Ninety percent of juniors and seniors have had exposure to post secondary opportunities, an ‘A’ grade, up more than 12 points from last year and well over the state average of 54%.
Calumet High School earned an overall grade of ‘C.’
Canton Elementary School tied the state average of 41% possible points earned in academic achievement, earning the school a ‘C.’ Unlike the state, however, the score is up 1.4%, whereas the state score dropped 7.4%.
Seventy-nine percent of students showed academic growth, up 15.6% from last year. The state average is 56%. The school earned a ‘B’ grade in this category.
Most of the students, 91.6%, were in class regularly, up 3.8%, compared to the 80.9% statewide. That earned Canton Elementary another ‘B’ grade.
Overall, the elementary school was rated at a ‘C’ level.
Over at the high school, academic achievement was 44%, down 9.42 % from last year, but still above the state average of 41%. This earned a ‘C’ grade. Graduation rates soared 12.8% to 92%, an ‘A’ grade, compared to the state average of 59%.
Absenteeism shows 92% of students in class regularly, up 9.57%, a ‘B’ grade. Post secondary opportunities showed only 49% of students had been exposed to college or career options, still a 5.92% improvement, earning a ‘C’ grade.
Overall, Canton High School earned a ‘C’ grade.
Geary Elementary School, like others in the region, struggled with the academic achievement marker. It showed students earning 40% of points possible for proficiency, down 3.4% from last year and one point below the statewide average. It earned a ‘D’ grade in that category.
Academic growth was at 44% showing growth over last year, but down 21% from that score. Geary Elementary was below the state average of 56%, earning a ‘C’ grade.
Geary is one of the few that had a mark in English proficiency progress. Of its students learning English, 32% were meeting their goal, on par with the state average of 34%, earning a ‘C’ grade. Chronic absenteeism rankings showed 78.8% of students are in school regularly, down 9.7% from last year and below the state average of 80.9%, giving the school a failing mark, or an ‘F’ grade. Overall Geary Elementary earned a ‘D.’
Geary Middle School struggled in some areas, such as academic achievement. Students earned just 7% of points possible for proficiency, down 28% from last year and well below the state average of 41%, receiving an ‘F’ mark.
Some 36% of students showed academic growth from last year, slightly lower than last year, and well below the state average of 56%. It earned a ‘D’ in this category.
English proficiency at the middle school was brighter than the elementary, with 47% making their goals, surpassing the state’s 34% and earning a ‘B’ grade.
As far as attendance is concerned, 82% of students were in class regularly, better than the 80.9% statewide average, earning a ‘D’ grade.
Overall, Geary Middle School earned a ‘D’ grade.
At Geary High School, students earned 37% of the points possible , up by 17 points from last year, but still below the state’s 41%, earning a ‘D’ grade.
In graduation rates, the school showed a 70% rate, up 17%, and above the state average of 59%, yielding a ‘C’ grade.
English language proficiency showed 4% of learners achieving their goals, up 3.85% from last year. The state average is 34%. Geary High earned a ‘D’ grade.
As to attendance, 92.3% of students were at school regularly, compared to 80.9% statewide, earning a ‘B’ grade.
It also earned a ‘B’ grade in students being exposed to careers and education after graduation at 65%. Overall, Geary High School earned a ‘C’ grade.
It should be noted that Geary public schools suffered a catastrophic loss of facilities in a fire last year, which may have impacted the testing results.
At Watonga Elementary School, students earned 47% of points possible in academic achievement, earning a ‘C’ grade. This is 13.86 points below last year’s average.
In academic growth, there was a 31% drop compared to last year, with 37% of students showing growth, gaining a ‘D’ average.
Twenty three percent of learners gained English proficiency goals, down 21% from last year, or a ‘D’ grade.
Attendance was 95.4%, earning the elementary an ‘A’ grade.
Overall, Watonga Elementary earned a grade of ‘C.’
Watonga Middle School showed similar trends to the elementary. Academic achievement showed students earning 52% of points available, or a ‘C’ grade, while academic growth was rated at 64%, or a ‘B’ grade.
English learners achieved 56% of their goals, up 5.56% from last year, earning an ‘A’ grade, while school was the place to be, with 97% of students in class regularly, up 1.7% from last year and also earning an ‘A’ grade.
Overall, Watonga Middle School earned a ‘B’ grade.
At Watonga High School, students earned 46% of points available in academic achievement, no change from last year, earning a ‘C’ grade. Graduation rates are at 91%, up 3.2% from last year and earning an ‘A’ grade.
Some 15% of English learners made their goals, earning a ‘C’ grade and 90% were at school regularly, down 5.3% from last year but still good enough to earn a ‘B.’
As far as opportunities after high school, Watonga earned 73% of junior and seniors having exposure to college or career paths, earning an ‘A.’
Overall, Watonga High School earned a ‘C’ grade.
Not all superintendents are fans of the report cards. Sean Buchanan from Geary has said it can penalize smaller schools because if only a few students have a bad day or test poorly, the data is skewed from the day-today picture. However, Kyle Hilterbran from Watonga was enthusiastic about the district’s scores.
“As superintendent, I’m proud of the progress across all Watonga Public Schools. Both our high school and middle school improved their school report card grades this year, and our internal benchmark data shows growth at the elementary level as well,” he wrote.
“ Our high school continues to excel in college readiness, graduation rates, students entering college without remedial courses, and Advanced Placement participation. The middle school remains a model Professional Learning Community, earning a solid B. While the elementary growth was not fully reflected in the report card, we believe testing irregularities may have affected the results, and we have submitted an appeal with the Oklahoma State Department of Education. We remain committed to representing all student’s performance accurately and fairly.”
Hilterbran also highlighted some of the failings of the report card evaluation.
“In the last few years, the Oklahoma State Department of Education has made several changes to how school report card grades are calculated, disproportionately affecting schools with high populations of economically disadvantaged and minority students. In addition, the weight of English Learner (EL) student performance has increased proportionally— while only 5% of our high school population are EL students, their performance now counts for 12% of the overall school grade. We continue to monitor these changes and hope that legislators and the State Department of Education will address these issues in the upcoming session to ensure all student achievement is accurately represented and supported,” he added.