Bend-La Pine, Redmond schools get new report cards

The Oregon Department of Education released redesigned school report cards Thursday, including new information, and two Central Oregon districts found much to be pleased with — along with issues to address.

The report cards found that more than 70 percent of schools in Central Oregon meet standards, while more than 90 percent of schools in the Bend-La Pine district are among the top 15 percent of schools in Oregon.

“The report card is pretty complex,” Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Ron Wilkinson said. “If you’ve had a chance to look at them, they provide about three pages of information from each school.”

The information in the report cards is based off of the OAKS test and some other factors. Much of the information is the same, but reformatted in a more user-friendly way. Other information is brand new.

The report shows overall achievement and growth from year to year. It then breaks that down into subgroup information. Subgroups are groups of students of differing demographics. Subgroups overall achievement and year to year growth is

“So where we have the opportunity to focus improvement efforts is in that subgroup growth,” said Linda Seeberg of the Redmond School District. “That is not atypical. That’s a place where many schools have room for improvement.”

Seeberg also said it was a way to really pinpoint areas that need improvement and groups of children to focus on.

Also new is how schools are rated behind the scenes. Schools are given levels 1 through 5, based on their assessment. Level 1 schools are those in need of the most help and are labeled “priority schools.” Level 5 schools are those that are meeting and exceeding standards and are labeled “model schools.”

Wilkinson said, “94 percent of our schools received a 4 or 5 rating, and the two that did not showed significant improvement in performance.”

Seeberg said, “We felt pretty good for that two-year period about overall achievement and overall growth.”

While both school districts were pleased with results, they say they are planning on using the new reports to seek more improvement.

“We’re embracing the discomfort that comes with failure, and we see it more as an opportunity,” Seeberg said.

“We’ll celebrate today and then go back to work,” Wilkinson said.

In Central Oregon, Bend’s Marshall High School is on the priority schools list, as are three in Jefferson County — Jefferson County Middle School, Madras High School and Warm Springs Elementary School.

Two La Pine schools — La Pine and Rosland elementary — are on the focus schools list, along with Buff Intermediate School in Madras.

The model schools list includes Buckingham and Three Rivers elementary in Bend, and Culver Middle School.

For a list of the 2013-14 Model schools (along with the names of the Focus and Priority schools), click here.

An FAQ on changes to the School and District Report Card is available at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/docs/report-card-faq.pdf

School and district report cards are available on the Department’s website at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx