The 2017-18 school district report card and accountability grades were released Monday by the Arkansas Department of Education. ADE is required annually to prepare and publish a school performance report for each school in the state and make the report available to schools, parents, and the local community.
The report not only issues a designated letter grade to each campus within a district, but it also issues a score based on the federal ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) School Index. The federal educational standards act was passed in 2015. According to the state education department’s website, the report aligns with Arkansas’ own school accountability system.
The scoring chart uses traditional “A” through “F” letter-grading, but each grade scale slides depending on the campus and age group it encompasses. For instance, a “C” grade at Magnolia High School fell between a rating of 61.10 and 67.95, while at East Side Elementary, the scoring range for the same letter fell between 64.98 and 72.16.
Most Magnolia campuses were either near or just below the state accountability rating average.
The new report card grades also now take into account more information than the previously issued format, including a further breakdown of school demographics such as ethnicity, low-income level, special education percentage, percentage of “English learners,” per-capita spending, graduation rate for high schools, student-teacher ratio, average class size, teacher experience, and more.
“The School Report Card is designed to provide a communication framework to encourage dialogue and to inform decisions within each school community,” said Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key in his address letter attached to Monday’s report. “The updated report card has more detailed information about your school and is available from three points of view: school, district, and state.”
Among Magnolia schools, Central Elementary garnered the highest score with its 68.06 “C” rating. Magnolia High School, with its 62.42 “C” rating, scored the lowest.
The campus breakdown of Magnolia Public Schools statistics and rating scores are as follows:
EAST SIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MAGNOLIA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
MAGNOLIA HIGH SCHOOL
The district as a whole had 2,754 students, with 13 to 1 student-teacher ratio, and an average class size of 16. The average teaching experience was 13.5 years. Students receiving special education numbered 11 percent, while the low income rate was 72 percent.
“I encourage students, parents, educators, and community members to spend time reviewing the reports for their school and district,” said Key in his April 15 note. “The reports, combined with other available data and information, should be used to guide conversations regarding continuous school improvement. Together, we will provide a student-focused education to all students in Arkansas.”
To assist with the understanding and usage of the report cards, several communication tools have been developed. Available at www.arkansased.gov/, resources include a video and several one-page documents that highlight how to access the report card and ways the report card can be used.
Full reports for each district and campus are available at www. myschoolinfo.arkansas.gov. They contain grade and subject ACT Aspire test results from spring 2018 and years past, as well as property tax rates, school growth and more. The full reports range from around 50 to 100 pages in length.