Three area schools get perfect scores in state report

Many Southeast Missouri schools have something to celebrate, as the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its Annual Performance Report for all school districts statewide.

The reports, made public today, provide a snapshot of school districts' performance and are used by the state to review and inform accreditation recommendations for the 553 public school districts in Missouri.

They are used to show how well school districts are meeting Missouri's education standards under its accountability system, the Missouri School Improvement Program 5 (MSIP5).

Three area schools -- Kelso, Oran and Oak Ridge -- earned 100 percent of their total possible points this year.

It marks Kelso's second year with a perfect score. Oak Ridge and Oran steadily have been increasing their scores over the last two years, now reaching 100 for the first time.

Oran superintendent Blane Keel said he was thrilled with the news.

"That 100 percent APR score is a sign to our community that we are dedicated to our students and to making sure they have everything they need to be ready to enter into the world of work or further their education," he said.

Since 2014, Oran's scores have increased by 10 percentage points. Keel credits increased professional development and close monitoring of student achievement for the steady improvement

The performance report consists of five categories -- academic achievement, subgroup achievement, college and career readiness, attendance and graduation rate -- in which kindergarten through 12th-grade districts can score up to 140 points.

The subgroup achievement category includes minority students and students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Districts are required by the state to demonstrate improvement in student performance for subgroups.

Districts that score 90 percent or more are considered accredited with distinction, 70 percent or more are accredited, 50 percent or more are provisionally accredited and less than 50 percent are unaccredited.

For the first time since the state started using the improvement program, no school districts in Missouri received an Annual Performance Report in the unaccredited range.

Another school with marked improvement is Jackson, which earned 98.2 percent, up from 91.4 on 2014 and 95.7 in 2015.

Since 2014, the district has seen improvement in standard math scores and in college and career readiness.

"It's a focus on continual improvement," associate superintendent Matt Lacy said. "Each year, we try to examine the scores that come in from state achievement tests and the APR scores and try to get a strategy of how to improve."

Considerable improvement was made at Scott County Central, which earned a 91.8 percent, up from a score of 69.3 percent in 2014 and 77.1 percent in 2015.

Scott County R-IV also improved, earning a 94.3 percent this year, over a 89.6 in 2014, and a 92.9 last year.

Some area schools saw a decline in scores this year.

Cape Girardeau School District received an overall score of 83.2 percent, down from 86.4 in 2015, and 88.2 in 2014.

Declines can be seen particularly in subgroup achievement in science and general college and career readiness.

Christa Turner, director of academic services at Cape Girardeau School District, said the results are an opportunity to see where improvement is needed.

"We're really trying to analyze that data and see where we are not being as successful in helping our students grasp the concepts," she said.

Improvement efforts are being carried out in specific grade levels and the district as a whole. Turner said the district needs to be vertically aligned with its curriculum while ensuring the curriculum aligns with state testing expectations.

"It is our report card, and we definitely want to change the tide and get back to improving the score," Turner said.

Turner said the district specifically is looking at how the schools prepare students for tests such as the ACT, which is part of the college and career-readiness standard.

"If we help our students be more successful, it should help with our APR," Turner said.

Perry County graded a 86.1 percent this year, down from 90 percent last year. That still was a marked improvement from 2014's 78.6 percent score.

Scott City saw a decline as well. It received an 85.4 percent grade this year, down from 90.0 percent in 2015 and 91.4 percent in 2014.

The college and career readiness score was where the district faltered.

"We're always trying to improve our test scores," Brian Lee, superintendent of Scott City schools said, noting his school's average scores improved more than the average scores statewide.

"We look at those numbers, because you can't compare last year's test scores to this year's," Lee said, "because the tests totally change."

Lee said his district is focusing on current initiatives, such as the Response to Intervention initiative, which identifies students who aren't mastering objectives and helps them improve those skills.

"We think that's already starting to pay dividends," Lee said. "We we already feel like we're moving in the right direction."

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