Most area schools passing

More than 70 percent of schools in Central Oregon met or exceeded state targets in reading, math and graduation rates during the 2012-13 school year, according to redesigned state report cards released today by the Oregon Department of Education.

According to the reworked report cards, seven area schools — Amity Creek, Buckingham, High Lakes and Miller elementaries and Three Rivers School in Bend-La Pine Schools, as well as Culver Middle School and Jefferson County’s Big Muddy Elementary — were among the top 10 percent of schools in the state.

“Essentially, almost all our (Bend-La Pine Schools) are in the top half of the schools in our state,” Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Ron Wilkinson said. “Our goal is that it doesn’t matter which school you go to in the Bend-La Pine Schools, you’re guaranteed to get a quality education wherever you go. We’re getting pretty close to being able to guarantee that to our families.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, only five schools in Central Oregon fell into the bottom 15 percent of schools in the state.

Warm Springs Elementary School, a part of the Jefferson County School District, falls in the bottom 5 percent of schools statewide. The percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards in math, writing and science all dropped from 2011-12.

Other schools that were rated in the bottom 15 percent include Marshall High in Bend and Pioneer Secondary Alternative High in Crook County. Wilkinson said the state ratings should not apply to alternative schools.

“A high percentage of the population at those schools are behind in credits or have not succeeded at a traditional high school, so it’s not fair,” he said. “I’m going to continue to advocate that alternative high schools should not have their graduation rates count against them. They should look at growth and other data.”

The state report cards look a lot different than in the past, and now include letters from superintendents and principals. For the first time, a ranking system compares the performance of each school to other schools with similar student demographics. Other additions include information on the number of graduates going on to college and the percentage of freshmen who are on track to graduate.

“These report cards are designed to provide parents and community members with important information about their schools and districts, and it was essential that the audience for these reports had a strong voice in their redesign,” said Deputy Superintendent Rob Saxton in a statement. “Our education system is changing, our schools are changing, and we needed these report cards to change as well to better tell our schools’ stories and to provide parents and community members with critical information on student and school performance.”

Oregon began issuing report cards in 2000, and though their format and content have changed repeatedly over the years, this most recent redesign marks the biggest transformation. Last fall a 17-member Report Card Steering Committee met to spearhead the change, which was necessary to maintain the state’s exemption from the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

While the report cards include a range of information beyond academic performance, including the amount of money spent per pupil, average class size and the ethnic makeup of teaching staffs, the report focus is a five-tier rating system that synthesizes multiple components of performance into one score. This ranking is at the heart of the federal government’s requirement that Oregon evaluate and report on the performance of each school.

School ratings are based on academic achievement, academic growth and subgroup growth. At the high school level, the graduation rate and subgroup graduation rates are also included. Level one schools represent the bottom 5 percent of schools, level two the next 10 percent and level three the next 30 percent. Level four represents the largest share of schools, those that fall between 44 and 90 percent. Level five is the top 10 percent of schools.

The report cards also identify Title I schools — institutions where at least 40 percent of the students are low-income — as focus, priority and model schools. Focus and priority schools are the state’s lowest performing Title I schools, which specifically target struggling students. Buckingham Elementary and Three Rivers School, which educates students in kindergarten through eighth grade, were identified as model schools, indicating their performance is among the top 5 percent of Title I schools.

All of the district and school report cards are available on the ODE website: www.ode.state.or.us.