Giving Schools their Grades

For decades report cards have served as historical records of a student’s academic performance. Depending on whether they gleam with A’s or disappoint with D’s, these reports may be proudly displayed on refrigerator doors or can become the ticket to punishment in households everywhere.

This time though, it’s not the students who are being graded.
Schools are being put to the test, and it seems that if Poudre School District where a student, it’d be at the head of the class.

On Wednesday, the Colorado Department of Education released the seventh annual Colorado School Accountability Reports, which measure schools on overall academic performance on state assessments and the academic growth of students.

Overall academic performance ratings are based on the Colorado Student Assessment Program and ACT scores. The reports also include demographic information such as average teacher salaries, attendance rates, teacher experience, student-teacher ratios, safety and discipline and poverty level.

For the most part, Poudre School District made the grade with 84 percent of the schools ranking “high” or “excellent” in academic performance. Overall, 13 PSD schools were rated “excellent,” 29 were rated “high,” seven were rated “average” and one was rated “low.” In the way of growth, 14 PSD schools were ranked in the “significant improvement” category, 17 were ranked in the “improvement” category, 11 were ranked in the “stable” category, six were ranked in the “decline” category and four were ranked in the “significant decline” category.

Chuck DeWayne, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, said the district traditionally has a lot of schools that receive high rankings and that more schools ranked excellent or high compared to previous years. He said that while the reports can be used by parents for a starting point, they are only one piece of the puzzle.

“It’s not the be all, end all,” DeWayne said. “What we don’t want is parents to pick a school based on it. ... The reports don’t reflect where kids start.”

Lincoln Junior High was the only PSD school rated low, but DeWayne expects a quick turnaround. And while some people may wonder if geographic location has any direct correlation to how well a school rates, the district does not draw those lines. The report does outline how each individual school compares to other schools within a 75-mile radius. Though the average-rated schools are on the north side of Fort Collins, there were also schools in the same area that ranked high or excellent.

“If we are an average-rated school, that doesn’t mean we are an ‘average’ school,” DeWayne said.

He said for parents to really understand how a school is doing, the best thing they can do is contact that school and speak with the teachers and administrators. Families will receive the reports for their child’s school in late December or early January. The reports are also available online at www.cde.state.co.us.
At the high school level, Fossil Ridge and Ridgeview Classical were rated “excellent” and Fort Collins, Poudre and Rocky Mountain high schools were rated high.

DeWayne said that the district’s high marks can be attributed to a variety of things including strong faculty and staff. He added that the district continues to put a strong emphasis on individualized instruction.

Since the first year of the reports, PSD schools rated either excellent or high has increased from 24 to 42. Statewide, 11.8 percent of Colorado’s 1,971 regular and alternative schools rated excellent this year compared to 8.3 percent five years ago.

Hours after the reports were released, Gov. Bill Ritter announced an ambitious package of educational reforms that are based on the work of the P-20 Education Coordinating Council.

“We can and should continue to debate whether the SAR is the best measurement tool available to us,” Ritter said in a press release. “Regardless, I’m not satisfied. Nobody can say we are doing the best job possible when it comes to preparing our kids for a 21st century workforce. If there’s one area where we can not fail, it’s how we educate our children.”

Ritter’s reforms call for the creation of a data and accountability system and the addition of 70 new counselors to work in middle and high schools, as well as the creation of a statewide guidance policy that would focus on college preparation. His proposals also call for reevaluating dropout rules and strengthening the Colorado preschool program and full-day kindergarten programs. According to a press release, three of the reforms call for dollars from the State Education Fund and would be included in the 2008 School Finance Act.