Page 10
The iINDEPENDENT, March 20, 2003
State reports cards show differences without much explanation
From page 1
out of the report cards makes it
somewhat easier to understand
what is being evaluated in a
particular area. The front of the
report card shows both the
school’s overall rating and
“School at a Glance.” This sec
tion includes the components
that are evaluated for “school
characteristics:” testing partici
pation, school size, English lan
guage learners, class size, per
sonnel and number of expul
sions due to weapons.
The inside of the card con
tains the Academic Achieve
ment section, where bench
mark testing in reading, writing,
math multiple choice and math
problem solving results in the
Student Performance rating.
The overall data are reported
for each subject area and com
pared to the 2000-2001 school
year and to data from similar
schools and the state average.
The “student behavior” rating is
compiled only from statistical
data for attendance (and in
high schools the drop-out rate).
Each school also receives a
rating for improvement in test
results (assessments), atten
dance and dropout rate.
Vernonia Schools
Both Vernonia High School
and Washington Grade School
received the lowest possible
satisfactory rating overall. Nei
ther Mist nor Lincoln schools
receive an overall rating. The
state tests students at four
benchmark levels usually in
grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. Lincoln
School is not rated because it
has only kindergarten, first and
second grade students, and
state testing does not begin un
til third grade; Mist does not re
ceive a rating because the stu
dent population is too small.
However, both schools show
attendance below the state av
erage, though Mist is the only
school in the district to receive
a satisfactory attendance rat
ing. All other Vernonia schools
received a low rating for stu
dent behavior (meaning atten
dance).
Funderburg presented data
showing that Vernonia schools
have significant problems in the
areas of attendance and math
ematics, particularly problem
solving. The percentage of stu
dents meeting state standards
in this area is below both the
state average and the average
for comparable schools. There
is also a marked reduction in
the percentage of students
meeting the standard after the
fifth grade benchmark, at the
eighth and tenth grade bench
mark levels. The percentage of
students passing reading and
math knowledge and skills
(multiple choice) tests is at, or
slightly higher than, the state
average in grades 3 and 5, but
the percentage drops signifi
cantly in grades 8 and 10. The
percentage of students meet
ing the standard for math prob
lem solving is significantly be
low the state average at all
grade levels.
S o m e b rig h t spots
There are a few bright spots
in the Vernonia reports. Fun
derburg told the board that dis
trict teachers are to be com
mended for the high percent
age of students meeting the
state standards in writing at all
grade levels. The district’s
schools also received excep
tional ratings for school charac
teristics based on the high per
centage of students taking the
state assessments and small
class size, compared to the
state average. (The small class
size also contributes to the
higher per-student expendi
ture.)
Attendance problems
Funderburg told the board
repeatedly that the district must
get serious about addressing
problems in attendance and ac
ademics. According to Funder
burg, ratings in these areas
may be worse next year even if
improvements are made this
year. Funderburg said he would
be taking action immediately to
improve attendance at all
schools and the board will be
presented with a new policy
soon. WGS teacher llene
Grady also told the board that
the public needs to be educat
ed about the importance of at
tendance.
Administrative decisions will
be made and implemented
quickly to improve attendance,
Funderburg said, but academic
improvements will be a longer
process. Data over the last few
years of testing indicate prob
lems across all grade levels, so
improvement in instruction will
require collaboration with staff
and evaluation of curriculum in
order to improve K-12 mathe
matics education.
B anks S chool D istrict
A glance at the bar graph of
each school’s overall rating
might initially lead to a conclu
sion that Banks schools were
dramatically “better” than Ver
nonia schools, but further
analysis of the data does not
support that view. Comparisons
between the two districts are
particularly difficult at the ele
mentary and junior high level
because Vernonia’s junior high
is an integral part of the ele
mentary school and is included
in that evaluation. Banks Ele
mentary (BES) Banks Junior
High (BJHS) and Washington
Elementary (WGS) in Vernonia,
all received overall ratings of
satisfactory, though BES and
BJHS were solidly in the middle
of the satisfactory category
while WGS hovers as close to
the bottom of the category as
possible.
D ifferent results
While BES improved atten
dance by 0.4 percent, just ex
ceeding the statewide average
and earning a satisfactory rat
ing for student behavior, WGS
improved attendance by 1.6
percent but received a low rat
ing because it was still below
the state average.
All schools were rated satis
factory for academic achieve
ment, but Banks students con
tinue to pass state assess
ments (tests) at levels higher
than or equal to the state aver
age through the tenth grade
benchmark, without the break
in testing success experienced
by Vernonia students. This may
be due, in part, to expanded tu
toring offered in the Banks
School district by Americorp
member volunteers at both
BES and Banks High School
(BHS).
H igh S chools
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Comparisons between the
two high schools are both easi
er to make and more dramatic.
While VHS barely retains an
overall rating of “satisfactory,”
BHS retains its “strong" rating.
The percentage of BHS stu
dents meeting the state stan
dard at the tenth grade bench
mark is above statewide aver
ages in every category (math
knowledge and skills, problem
solving and writing) except writ
ing, where the percentages are
slightly less than the state aver
age. Writing is the one area
where VHS students exceed
the statewide average.
The state issues rating for
improvement in assessments,
attendance and dropout rate.
This is a new area of the report
card and graphically presents
changes in reading and math
test scores over a four year pe
riod, comparing the average for
1998-2000 with the average for
2000-2002. Attendance/drop
out rates in the two schools are
moving in the opposite direc
tions. Vernonia attendance has
increased from 84.8 percent to
87.6 and the drop out rate has
increased slightly, while atten
dance at BHS has dropped
from 95.4 percent to 93.7 and
the drop out rate has de
creased. It should be noted
that changes in the dropout
rate in a small school can be
the result of changes in the size
of the graduating class or a sin
gle student dropping out. Read
ing scores remained the same
Then and Now...
at BHS, and VHS improved
reading scores by 10 percent.
Most dramatically, Banks math
scores improved by a whop
ping 20 percent compared to
VHS six percent improvement.
BHS received an “improved"
rating in this category and VHS'
rating was “stayed about the
same."
SA T s co res
and a tte n d a n c e
SAT scores for Vernonia stu
dents taking the national col
lege prep exam are below both
the state and national averages
with an average combined
score of 977, and less than a
third of students participating.
BHS achieved an average
combined score of 1016, with
more than 50 percent of the
students participating.
BHS had a slight drop in at
tendance, but received a strong
rating for student behavior and
was still nearly 2 percent higher
than the state average. Despite
improving attendance by 4.5
percent, Vernonia received a
low rating because the atten
dance rate remains below the
state average.
A d d itio n a l info
Additional information about
schools is available at the fol
lowing sites:
Report Card Website: re-
portcard.ode.state.or.us
Departm ent of Education
Website: www.ode.state.or.us
Database Initiative Website:
dbi.ode.state.or.us/reports.htm
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