Most recent School Performance Profiles released by Department of Education
The Iowa Department of Education recently released new results for the online school accountability reporting system called the Iowa School Performance Profiles.
The majority of schools in The Red Oak Express coverage area met standards.
Launched in 2018, the Iowa School Performance Profiles is a report card reflecting the performance of all public schools. The state average for schools is 54.70.
Local school scores were:
• Inman Elementary, 52.25, acceptable
• Red Oak Junior/Senior High School, 51.61, acceptable
• Essex Elementary 56.22, commendable
• Essex Junior/Senior High School, 58.6, commendable
• Enarson Elementary 45.4, needs improvement
• SWV Middle School 51.33, acceptable
• SWV High School, 52.4, acceptable
• East Mills Elementary 58.44, commendable
• East Mills Junior/Senior High School, 58.48, commendable
• Stanton Elementary, 63.29, high performing
• Stanton Junior/Senior High School 58.73, commendable
“I am pleased that both our schools received ‘Acceptable’ ratings, but we have much to work to do,” commented Red Oak Superintendent Ron Lorenz. “We definitely have some strengths to build upon, but also some areas where improvement is needed. We are pushing ourselves to enhance our instructional practice every day. We’re not going to let up regardless of our school index scores or ratings. If we’re not getting better, we’re getting worse.
Lorenz added he is “encouraged by the classifications,” as the district’s index results were better than the year before, suggesting the district is moving in the right direction.
Essex Superintendent Dr. Mike Wells said he is very proud of the school and the way the students performed last year despite the many challenges facing education.
“We feel the new programming that we have put in place which includes farm school, agricultural education, the Leader in Me Program, and the Maker Space Program have been contributing factors to student success,” Wells said. “The Essex teaching staff is the best, and we applaud their effort of teaching everyday and making life better for every student.”
According to the Iowa Department of Education, “The Iowa School Performance Profiles show updated scores and ratings for all public schools based on how they performed on a set of accountability measures in the 2020-21 school year.
The profile also shows postsecondary readiness indicators for public high schools based on student participation and scores on college entrance exams, participation in postsecondary or advanced coursework and percentage of students who are focused on career and technical education within one of six service areas defined in Iowa Code 256.11(5 as well as the ability to search and compare school building, school district and state-level performance data.”
It added while the performance scores and rankings were updated for all public schools, no new schools were identified for additional support and improvement. During the 2020-21 school year, the U.S. Department of Education waived this requirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is an important tool for families, educators and other stakeholders to understand how their schools are performing and to help determine next steps for moving forward,” said Iowa Department of Education Director Ann Lebo. “The Iowa School Performance Profiles can assist communities in data-driven decision-making, but it doesn’t tell the whole story about our schools. It’s important to understand the challenges brought on by the pandemic, and to take that into account when looking at the 2021 performance scores.”
The latest scores reflect results of the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP), which all 327 public school districts administered last spring, read the report.
It continued to say a remote online testing option was made available in 2021 for students who were enrolled and unable to test at school.
“Since remote assessments were not proctored, the results are not included in the average school achievement scores. About 3.4 percent of all tested students took the ISASP remotely,” the report ssaid.
Between 2019 (the last time that the ISASP was administered) and 2021, the number of schools in the Exceptional category decreased by six and the number of schools in the High Performing category decreased by 26.
Conversely, the report stated the number of schools in the “Needs Improvement” category increased by seven schools and the “Priority” categories, increased by 21 schools.
It was noted in the report that when comparing performance scores from 2019 to 2021, it is important to take into account the disruptions the COVID-19 pandemic had on schools during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
To see individual results for each district, go to iaschoolperformance.gov/ECP/Home/Index