State Announces New School Ranking System; Vicksburg Schools Remain High Achievers
Combined grades 3-8 passing rates on the fall 2011 MEAP show Vicksburg students, scoring 3rd out of 35 area school districts in both Math and Reading. In addition, each building made AYP, and each elementary maintained state report card grades of B, while the Middle and High School rate C grades.
At the same time, Vicksburg Elementary Writing scores fell on the state’s new writing test and cut scores. In response, Vicksburg has adopted new elementary spelling and writing curriculums, and has scheduled intensive staff training in those areas, while continuing staff training in differentiating elementary math instruction.
Most recently, the state announced a new school Top to Bottom School Ranking system based on MEAP and MME results. The system uses complex statistical calculations of overall achievement levels on each test, improvement in achievement over time, and the achievement gap between the top 30% of students versus the bottom 30% of students to tank each school.
The new ranking system shows Vicksburg Schools’ scores ratings in terms of percentile, meaning that school scored equal to or better than that percentage of schools in the state, as follows. The State also indicates whether schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and assigned to each school a letter grade, and whether a school has been designated as a “Reward” or “Focus” school.
%Rank Made AYP Grade
Indian Lake Elementary 72 Yes B
Sunset Lake Elementary 61 Yes B Focus
Tobey Elementary 92 Yes B Reward
Vicksburg Middle School 67 Yes C
Vicksburg High School 76 Yes C
The new ranking system has identified Tobey Elementary as a Reward School, and Sunset Lake Elementary as a Focus School. Reward Schools are those scoring in the top 5% or showing the greatest improvement, while Focus Schools are making student achievement progress generally, but must concentrate school improvement efforts on closing achievement gaps in order to help all children reach their learning potential. Focus Schools, including Sunset, will receive additional resources and attention in their efforts. Vicksburg Community Schools maintains high standards for our schools and a history of high achievement. We will be examining our curriculum to respond to the state’s higher achievement expectations. We will also focus our professional development efforts on enhancing our abilities to continually improve learning outcomes for all students.