Oregon releases new school rankings

Oregon has unveiled new ratings for nearly every school in the state under a new evaluation system that replaces the ratings under the No Child Left Behind federal education law.

Nine Central Oregon schools are among nearly 100 on the “priority,” “focus” or “model” lists, meaning they will get more attention and support.

The ratings released Friday list 35 low-performing “priority schools” in high-poverty areas.

The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/QMwc5g ) that those schools will have to figure out what they’re doing wrong and launch an improvement effort by next summer. Twenty-seven high-poverty schools are named top-performing “model schools.”

The new ratings are based largely on how much schools help students improve their reading and math skills from year to year. Past ratings have been based on whether students passed or failed standardized tests.

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Online:

Ratings information from the Department of Education: http://bit.ly/QMwGIN

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News release (with Central Oregon school information):

95 Oregon Schools to Receive Help in Boosting Student Achievement

ODE identifies Priority, Focus, and Model schools as part of new accountability system

Salem, OR – Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Rob Saxton and Chief Education Officer Rudy Crew today announced that Oregon has identified 95 Oregon schools which will receive additional supports and interventions from the state to help increase student achievement and close persistent achievement gaps. Identification of these schools is one component of Oregon’s new accountability system approved last month by the U.S. Department of Education. Oregon’s new home-grown system relieves the state from many of the mandates of the No Child Left Behind law, formally known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

“Our education system is tasked with preparing all kids to compete in an increasingly complex and competitive world,” said Acting Deputy Superintendent Rob Saxton. “This list of schools is designed to help ensure our schools have the tools, resources, and supports they need to meet that challenge.”

As part of the federal ESEA waiver application, Oregon developed a new accountability system which uses multiple measures to rate schools.

For high schools, these measures include academic achievement, academic growth, subgroup growth, graduation rates, and subgroup graduation. For elementary and middle schools, the first three measures are used. Schools receive an overall rating based on how well they are doing in each of these areas.

“This new system is designed to better assess how our schools are doing and then provide them with the help they need to turn things around,” said Chief Education Officer Rudy Crew. “We clearly have a ways to go to reach our state’s 40-40-20 Goal, but this new accountability system and the supports we are providing to our schools, puts us firmly on the right track.”

In order to provide support to the schools that need it most, ODE identified high poverty (Title I) Priority schools for additional supports and interventions. These 18 schools represent the bottom 5% of high poverty schools in the state and have been identified as most in need of assistance in turning around student achievement and growth. Also identified as Priority schools are the 17 schools currently receiving ESEA School Improvement Grants (SIG).

In Central Oregon, the preliminary ratings of priority schools include Bend’s Marshall High School (receiving SIG grants), and three Jefferson County schools — Jefferson County Middle School, Madras High School and Warm Springs Elementary School.

The first two receive School Improvement Grants and the Warm Springs school is listed as a high-poverty school that needs more support to turn things around.

In addition, the state has identified 60 Focus schools which are in the bottom 15% of high poverty schools and have faced challenges with closing the achievement gap and getting all students to achieve at high levels. These schools will also receive additional supports from the state.

The preliminary list includes, in the Bend-La Pine district, La Pine Elementary School and Rosland Elementary,and in Jefferson County, Buff Intermediate School in Madras.

The schools on the Priority and Focus lists will conduct a deeper diagnosis to determine the areas in which the school and district are struggling.

Based on the results of this review, the school and district leadership, in collaboration with teachers, parents, and the community, will develop a Comprehensive Achievement Plan that specifically addresses how the school and district will tackle problems, turn around achievement, and make progress toward specific goals.

The final category of schools identified this summer are 27 Model schools. These high-poverty schools have been identified as examples of successful student outcomes and will serve as models and mentors to other schools around the state. These schools will help share best practices and guide other schools on the journey toward better student outcomes and our state’s 40-40-20 Goal.

Two Central Oregon schools are on the Model schools list — in Bend, Westside Village Magnet School at Kingston Elementary, and Sisters Elementary School.