Annual Performance Reports for area schools announced

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the Annual Performance Report for every public school district and charter school in Missouri.

A kindergarten - 12th grade district can earn up to 140 points in five categories that it's scored on: academic achievement, subgroup achievement, college and career readiness, attendance and graduation rates.

Academic achievement is worth 56 points, the most out of any of the categories. The points are earned based on how well its students did on the Missouri Assessment Program.

The subgroup achievement is worth 14 points. DESE separates MAP scores for students with disabilities, those who participate in the free and reduced priced lunch program, have a racial/ethnic background or are English language learners to calculate the subgroup achievement category.

College and career readiness is worth 30 points and is calculated based on a district's ACT/SAT, COMPASS and ASVAB test scores, AP and dual credit test scores and post-secondary placement.

Schools can receive full points on attendance if 90 percent of its student body attends class 90 percent of the time.

Graduation rates are calculated on a three-year average.

There were some changes to the way APRs were calculated this year.

Below is a list of area schools including there scores and future plans.

California: 96.4% (K - 12)

The Moniteau County R-1 School District is fully accredited in 2015 after earning 96.4 percent on its APR. This year's score went up, compared to the 89.6 percent in 2013 and 87.9 percent in 2014.

Moniteau County R-1 earned 55 out of the 56 possible points in academic achievement and 10 points out of 14 points for achievement subgroup.

The district received 30 out of 30 points for college and career readiness.

The district earned the full 10 points for attendance and all 30 points for graduation rates.

"Our administrators, teachers and staff are extremely pleased to have official recognition that the hard work that we have put in to meet the continually changing state standards is paying off," said Superintendent Dwight Sanders. "Over the three years that the MSIP 5 standards have been in place, our district has seen our scores on the Annual Performance Report go from 89.6 percent the first year to an all-time high of 96.4 percent this year. Because MSIP 5 standards are so comprehensive and measure such a broad range of performance areas, this score shows that we are doing a lot of things right, and we are proud of our accomplishments.

"With that being said, the APR shows very specific areas for growth that we will continue to focus on to make the improvements that are necessary. We are confident that we are doing the right things to improve student achievement and are pleased that DESE's evaluation of our district is showing that."

Tipton R-VI: 98.2 % (K -12)

The Tipton R-VI School District is fully accredited in 2015 after earning 98.2 percent on its APR. This years score rose compared to the 96.4 percent in 2014 and the 94.6 percent in 2013.

Tipton R-VI earned 56 out of 56 possible points in academic achievement and 14 out of 14 points that separates MAP test scores for students with disabilities.

The district received 27.5 out of 30 points for college and career readiness.

The district, which usually averages about 600 students, earned 10 full points for attendance and all 30 points for graduation rates.

"We are pleased with the score received," said Superintendent Scott Jarvis. "We are happy that the school is accredited. Tipton is always in the mid to high 90s.

"I think we can do better and we're working on improving, and introducing the technology necessary to keep up with the new testing.

"I think that everyone in the county should be proud of all the schools in the county."

Jamestown C-1: 89.9% (K - 12)

The Jamestown C-1 School District is fully accredited in 2015 after earning 89.9 percent on its APR. This year's score dropped a bit compared to the 90.7 percent in 2014.

Jamestown C-1 earned 47 out of the 56 possible points in academic achievement and seven points out of 12 points for the academic achievement subgroup that separates MAP test scores for students with disabilities.

The district received 30 out of 30 points for college and career readiness.

The district earned the full 10 points for attendance and all 30 points for graduation rates.

"With less than one percentage point difference, Jamestown C-1's 2015 Annual Performance Report shows a score very similar to last year," said Superintendent Ellen Ash. "There was less than one percentage point difference from 2014's score of 90.7 percent to this year's score of 89.9 percent. In looking at the supporting data, English and math achievement scores climbed in 2015. We set goals to increase our ELA and math scores. Our instructional strategies in the areas of English and math have shown remarkable results. We will continue to develop strategies to increase scores in social studies and science.

"We have the advantage of a small high school," Ash said. "Small schools usually deliver better outcomes than larger high schools in those areas."

Russellville : 100% (K - 12)

The Russellville school district is fully accredited in 2015 after earning 100 percent on its Annual Performance Report.

The district's scores are up .4 percent from last year and 3.6 percent from 2013.

Russellville earned 66 points in academic achievement and 4 points for the academic achievement subgroup that separates MAP test scores for students with disabilities.

The district received 30 points for college and career readiness, which includes ACT/SAT, COMPASS AND ASVAB scores, AP and Dual credit scores, post-secondary placement and high school readiness for k-8 districts.

The district earned 10 points for attendance and 30 points for graduation rates.

"We're pleased with the 100 percent," said Superintendent Perry Gorrell. "But for the future, it's important to start gathering points from status and not growth. We have to look at our ELA (English and language arts) scores; there's room for improvement.

"This is a measurement and 100 percent is something to be proud of. But we don't want to lose focus on the other great things besides APR."

Clarksburg: 99.3% (K- 8)

Clarksburg C-II is a fully accredited district. The 2015 APR for the school is is 75.5 out of 76 possible points for a 99.3 percent score.

According to administrator Nathan Bestgen, "In 2013 our schools score was 67.5/80 for a 84.4 percent. In 2014 we earned 66.5/70 for 95 percent. This year we earned a 99.3 percent. I am very proud of what the school has been able to accomplish. The teachers work very hard to prepare students and the scores reflect their hard work."

A couple of years ago Clarksburg began testing the High school readiness by giving the EOC in English I to the eighth graders which helped gauge the high school readiness. They have also started exposing the students kindergarten - eighth grades to more and more technology and computer based programs to help on testing and improve the typing. They believe this helps the students, not only on test day, but as they move into high school.

Bestgen commented, "Our Board and PTO are very supportive and are always willing and eager to make sure we have whatever we need to be successful. We all want what is good for the students."

As far as future improvements are concerned, Bestgen shared, " we are looking into integrating some Google Chromebooks to keep up to date with current trends. We are always trying to keep our attendance rate up and encourage our students on the importance of attending regularly and working hard in the classroom to keep moving forward."

High Point: 76.9% (K - 8th)

High Point R-III has always had high enough scores to be fully accredited, according to Administrator Stan Elliott. Now, what is hard to understand is High Point Elementary and High Point School District are exactly the same but have different Annual Performance Scores. The difference is a high school readiness score.

The district has this score and it was zero last year. The reason it was zero is because area high schools refuse to accept Algebra I and English 9 credit from the kindergarten-eighth (k-8) grade schools, so students and parents do not want the cost and time commitment if it won't transfer. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education wants to demand K-8 districts take high school classes but high schools are not required to accept them even when a student passes the course and scores proficient or above on the End of Course Exam.

High Point APR score for 2015 was 76.9 up 7.5 percent from 2014 but down 5 percent from 2013.

Elliott shared, "I am not happy with the scores but lets put it in perspective. Because of the size of High Point statistical averages do not tell the story. High Point scores have been declining and the standard by which it is measured has increased. If you look at the raw scores, most of High Point's academic scores increased last year."

High Point school is continually working to help students achieve more academically. They have started a slow path of academic growth and are working hard to keep this up.

Potential areas of improvement for the school have been the purchase of a program to bench mark test student four times a year. They also purchased a program, that not only progress monitors, but also provides diagnostic information by student. The school has extended the after school program and instituted summer school for last two years.

In conclusion Elliot shared, "Over the last two years we have added two full time teaching position to increase academic availability for students. In the building all of the core (K-5 grade and 6-8 grade Math, English, Social Studies and Science) subject teachers are new to the district."

Latham: 94.7% (K- 8th)

With a score of 94.7, Latham school is on the high range of 70-100 percent required to be fully accredited through the state of Missouri.

Latham's APR scores for 2014 was 98.7 and for 2013 - 100 percent.

Superintendent Jennifer Hays commented regarding the latest scores, "We are disappointed that our score went down. The scores are based on a three year range of test scores, we had an exceptional group of students who scored very high on the science portion a few years ago and their scores have fallen out of the three year range to count towards this year. We are working hard to raise those test scores this year. I would like to point out that our English Language Arts and Mathematics scores continue to be high."

When asked about areas of improvement Hays shared "At Latham, we are working on consistency through the grade levels. We just began a new math program, where all of our students will use the same program K-8. We hope that this will help our students have the consistency that they need in order to continue to be successful on that portion of the test. This year we also have a fantastic science teacher for our older students. I feel that having her as part of our staff will increase our scores as well."