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Education

June 21, 2009

Area school districts receive their report cards

Derrick Miller

DUNCAN — A report cards can reflect progress and problem areas. But it’s not just students who are graded.

Schools throughout the nation are graded with children’s test scores and then given a report card, which compares each school district to the state average.

Glenda Cobb, assistant superintendent for Duncan Public Schools, said, “It really serves the community and the state. It provides accountability trends.”

The Oklahoma State Department of Education has nothing to do with the report card results. It’s up to an outside business, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, to take care of the figures in the report cards, which are based on test scores.

Cobb said the report cards are important because they provide a check and balance for a school and the state department.

“It’s a good thing,” she said.

While the numbers may be a way to see how a school district compares to the state average, the numbers are a year old. Cobb said the schools have been working to improve its weakest areas, but it won’t be until next year to see how effective this focus has been.

Many of Duncan’s numbers were just a few points above or below the state average, which Cobb said is good, but not good enough for the district.

“We’re never satisfied with test scores,” she said. “We always want more.

“While we’re doing OK, OK isn’t good enough for Duncan.”

District report cards compare test scores for subject matter for grades third through eighth, and end-of year testing for high school students. Those numbers are compared to what the state average was.

One of Duncan’s weakest scores, when compared to the state average, was in eighth-grade history/government. Duncan School District scored a 67 to the state’s 75.

On the flip side, some of its strongest scores included a 90 in sixth-grade reading, compared to the state average score of 86, and a score of 76 compared to the state average of 72 in English III.

Since scores differ from one school district to the next, the strengths and weaknesses are also different among the school districts.

Grandview School was above the state average in most subjects. It’s strongest showing was in third-grade math, which had a score of 100, compared to the state average of 81. It’s weakest point was fourth-grade math, which had a score of 80, compared to the state average of 86.

Comanche Public School’s strongest showing was a 91 in fifth-grade social studies. The state average was 76. It’s weakest point was in the Algebra II end-of-the-year test, with a score of 29. The state average was 55.

Marlow Public Schools also had a strong showing in fifth-grade social studies with a score of 92 to the state average of 76. But much like Comanche, it shared its weakest point, too — Algebra II, with a score of 38 to 55 for state average.

Velma-Alma School District was successful in third-grade reading by obtaining a score of 100, compared to the state average of 90. Unlike many of the other schools, fifth-grade social studies was its weakest point with a score of 47 to the state average of 76.

Empire Public Schools had a strong showing in reading, especially for sixth-grade. It’s score of that subject and grade was a 96, which was 10 points higher than the state average of 86. The district’s weakest point was also Algebra II, which is scored a 21.

Central High Public Schools also did well with reading. It’s highest comparable score was a 100 for seventh-grade reading. The state average was 83 points. But much like other schools in Stephens County, it’s weakest point was Algebra II, which it had a score of 22.

Bray-Doyle Public Schools was strongest in fifth-grade writing with a score of 100. The state average was 87. It’s weskest spot was eighth-grade math, which had a score of 58, compared to the state’s score of 85.

For many of the schools, the end-of-the-year test in Algebra II was an issue. The only school district in Stephens County to meet the state average in Algebra II was Duncan.

Cobb said there has been a push, nationally, to bring all schools to the national level. This is part of the purpose for the school report cards because it reflect where the schools are in comparison to the state and could be used to compare them to national numbers.

“It really serves the community and state,” she said. “It provides accountability trends. It’s a communication tool.”

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