Most Sioux Falls students aren't ready for college, state accountability report shows

Fewer than one-third of Sioux Falls' high school seniors are ready to start college or a career after graduating high school, a new report from the South Dakota Department of Education shows. 

Only 32 percent of students who finished high school in Sioux Falls in 2017 met the state's standards for college and career readiness. That's 14 percent lower than the statewide average. Sioux Falls also fell below the state average in the percentage of students ready for college coursework.

The variety of career-focused classes the district offers could be one reason for the below-average marks, Assistant Superintendent Teresa Boysen told school board members Monday. 

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The state gives points on the report cards based on how many students complete two courses in the same career or technical "cluster" or area of study. But if a student takes classes in different career areas, they don't earn those points. 

"It almost feels like having too many options for students in the district is detrimental," Board Member Carly Reiter said. "My gut says we have a lot of great options for students." 

But it's not just the career-focused courses. The state also takes into account ACT scores, state standardized testing scores, the number of dual credit courses taken and Advanced Placement test scores in determining if students are ready for college or a career. 

While the report card shows how the district is performing in college and career readiness, it's ultimately up to the district to decide what to focus on in preparing students.

"We want to make sure we look at the data and that we don't just make excuses for not meeting high thresholds," Superintendent Brian Maher said. "We also want to make sure what we're measuring makes sense for students in our district." 

Where does this data come from?

The data comes from the annual state accountability "report cards," which had state, district and school-level results posted as of Monday after a several-week delay.

These report cards are mandated by the state in adherence with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind as the education law of the land in 2015. 

This is the first year South Dakota's annual report cards fall under ESSA, and with the new law comes new metrics to make sure schools are held accountable for educating students. 

Previously:ESSA explained: How South Dakota plans to follow new national K-12 law

The state changed the way it looks at student success, including a new way of looking at college and career readiness, assessment of how well non-native English speaking students are progressing in learning the language, and federal data on suspensions as a marker for school safety. 

South Dakota's plan to enact ESSA was approved by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in January.

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