The Jefferson City School District and the Blair Oaks R-2 School District made gains in college and career readiness assessments on the Annual Performance Review. But the size of the gains and the scope of the score is less clear due to a change in how the state measures schools' performance.
This year, data gathered by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education brought new changes - notably, there is no total APR percentage score for school districts. Metrics on the Missouri School Improvement Program's system show the progress and accreditation for non-charter public schools. The system calculates student performance data for districts.
Where schools were previously evaluated by an overall numerical score, this year's APR now emphasizes category labels of growth, status and progress over point values. These labels are intended to shift away from points and better match their conversations to local context and priorities, DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven said.
Growth measures the change in achievement scores for students over time. The labels are "floor," indicating a score below expectations; "on-track," meeting expectations; and "exceeding," exceeding expectations.
Status reflects the school's overall performance for the year. Status labels are "approaching," "on-track" or "target."
Progress reflects the school's level of achievement on the Missouri Assessment Program test over a three-year average. Those labels include "floor," less than 1 percent improvement; "approaching," 1-2.99 percent improvement; "on-track," 3-4.99 percent; or "exceeding," 5 percent or more.
Schools were evaluated in key performance indicator areas of academic achievement in English, math, science, college and career readiness, attendance and graduation rates.
Academic achievement is also tracked for subgroups.
Social studies scores were not included because a field test took place this year. A hold was placed on science scores until Nov. 23.
Jefferson City School District
The Jefferson City School District's college and career readiness status scored as "on-track;" however, its progress in this area measured at "floor" this year, according to the APR data.
The college and career readiness section is broken down into college and career assessments, college credit and secondary placement. The district's status was "on-track" in all three.
The district is satisfied with this year's scores and is fully aware there are areas that need improvement, Superintendent Larry Linthacum said.
DESE's shift from total points to student data is a good thing, he said.
"Their shift to focus more on student data is something that we would agree with," Linthacum said. "We want to continue to work toward improvements across all areas."
JCSD was 2.5 points shy of a perfect 30 score for college readiness last year, according to the previous year's MSIP data. This year, JCSD showed less improvement in the area, JC Schools Chief of Learning Brian Shindorf said.
With the progress showing a decrease this year, Shindorf said he will evaluate the data and discuss improvement with principals.
In academic achievement, JC Schools received "approaching" status in English and math.
"We know that we are 'approaching' in that area, which does mirror the state," Linthacum said. "We're trying to focus on instruction in the classroom and the resources and making sure our teachers have all the tools and how we differentiate in the classroom with individualized learning with our kids to focus on how we can get better."
The district also scored "on-track" status for attendance and graduation rate.
Blair Oaks R-2
In college and career readiness categories, the Blair Oaks R-2 School District received "target" status for college credit, secondary placement and college assessments.
Those marks are consistent with how the district has performed in the past, said Tracey Burns, district director of curriculum and assessment.
"I think a lot of that goes toward our high school counselors," Burns said. "They just do a really good job of reaching out to students and reaching out to parents."
The counselors make sure there are plans, opportunities and help for students after graduation, she said.
The district is pleased with the scores overall, Superintendent Jim Jones said.
"The results demonstrate the commitment of our students, parents, faculty, staff and building administrators to meeting lofty expectations," Jones said. "It's something we pride ourselves on, but we're not done here; this is just the beginning, and now it's time to break those numbers down and see where we can improve."
The district plans to identify specific ways it can make improvements.
Other scores for Blair Oaks include:
In academic achievement, "target" status for English and "on-track" status for math.
"Target" status in attendance and graduation rate.