SCHOOL OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY DISTRICT 'REPORT CARDS'

Annual reports released by Missouri school districts earlier this month are best used as tools to mark self-improvement, area school administrators say, and should not be viewed as a report card on their districts' effectiveness.

Although the reports often are referred to as report cards, they don't assess a district's performance. School officials said there is no need to try to develop assessment criteria as long as state evaluations like the Missouri School Improvement Program exist.

"As far as I know, the state has no standards in place that would enable anyone to objectively grade districts based on the district profiles," said Cape Girardeau schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska.

Delta schools Superintendent Tom Allen said attempting to grade the reports would create a complex layer of bureaucracy where none is needed.

"Who's going to grade it if you start handing out letter grades for the annual report?" said Allen. "Our grading is actually the MSIP, and we're accredited."

Duane Schindler, schools superintendent at Meadow Heights School District, was superintendent of the Marquand-Zion School District in 1998 when the district was placed on a state watch-list for financial problems.

He said district patrons pay much more attention to such designations than they ever would to a district profile.

"Believe me, they paid a lot more attention when that happened," Schindler said. "Sometimes, it's kind of hard reading taxpayers. The main thing we want them to know is we're trying to put out the best possible product we can with the resources we have available."

Maze of numbers

One reason area school administrators said the reports could not be easily graded is because they present summarized information, often without explanation, resulting in a maze of numbers that mean little to noneducators.

Roger Tatum, Scott City schools superintendent, said the reports aren't widely read or used by the public because the bulk of the information cannot be explained adequately in the reports.

"They're complicated for anyone to understand, let alone someone who doesn't work with them every day," said Tatum.

Even if explanations were provided, many people prefer a quick look at the numbers rather than an in-depth review of the data, he said.

"I wouldn't fool myself to say all parents read it, but I think some parents look at it and see what we're offering," said Tatum. "Anyone moving into the area can look at the profile and learn a little about the school."

Comparative data

Administrators said the annual reports are most often used by school officials to determine gaps in achievement or strengths that can be used to promote the district or recruit staff or families into the district.

For example, Schindler said he compares his district's average salaries and student-to-teacher ratios with Leopold, Zalma and Woodland school districts because all four are located in Bollinger County.

Another factor he considers when reviewing district reports is the district's average years of teacher experience in comparison to surrounding schools.

Schindler said the ability to compare numbers and set district goals are the real value of the reports.

"We know it's there, and we look at how we compare to similarly-sized schools," he said. "We look at the whole thing and try to figure out if we're at least equal to some of them. It makes us put more pressure on ourselves."

The mandatory reports are summaries of academic, financial and assessment information from the previous school year. Missouri law requires school officials to submit the report to local media and make it available to the public each year by Dec. 1.