Accountability results reveal state of schools

Published 6:00 pm Sunday, September 18, 2011

Education accountability results madeofficial Friday offer some bright spots for local and area schoolsand districts, but also illustrate a need for improvement incertain places.

    In the latest rankings, which are based on student achievement onstandardized state tests, districts and schools are rated as Star,High Performing, Successful, Academic Watch, Low Performing, AtRisk Of Failing or Failing.

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    Statewide, four districts were rated as Stars while 28 wereconsidered High Performing.

    Among school districts in Southwest Mississippi, five districtsachieved the Successful rating and five were labeled on AcademicWatch or worse. The Lincoln County School District climbed fromAcademic Watch into the Successful category this year, while at thesame time, the Brookhaven School District fell from Successful toAcademic Watch.

    The county school district appears to be following a statewideupward trend while the city school district, unfortunately, seemsto be bucking it.

    In a three-year period from 2009-2011, the number of schooldistricts across the state rated as Successful or better hasclimbed from 61 in 2009 to 82 in 2011. Those statistics indicatethese districts – despite economic and budgetary challenges facedby all in the educational arena – are reaching and educatingchildren in an acceptable manner.

    Among individual schools in the local area, 17 were rated asSuccessful or better. Brookhaven High School, West LincolnAttendance Center and North Pike Elementary led the way as HighPerforming schools.

    On the flip side locally were 19 schools classified as AcademicWatch or lower. While none were labeled as At Risk Of or Failing, anumber of the schools did come in at the Low Performing level.

    An important aspect of the annual ratings relates to growth inachievement. This is the concept that if one is not moving forward,he is falling behind. It is not enough even to hold one’s own.Business and economic development leaders understand this well.That is why labels such as the latest results, and the perceptionsthey create, are so important.

    The perception – but more importantly the reality – of a strongschool district also plays a key role in a community’s ability toattract business and industry and subsequently provide the good,high-paying jobs that many desire.

    And as the economic development game takes on a more regional,state and global flavor, the educational strength of not only one’sown community, but also those of the surrounding areas, comes intoplay more heavily.

    At the school level, particularly important are the “foundational”grades of the elementary years. Many studies have shown thatstudents who are not reading on grade level during those years arenot prepared for and easily fall behind when they reach highergrades.

    In that regard, schools rated as Successful are merely “goodenough,” and schools rated any lower than that clearly have work todo.

    Of course, there are individual exceptions to the ratings rule anda broad-brush approach may not be truly indicative of the educationthat is taking place at a particular school. For example, anAcademic Watch district may have a High Performing school in itsranks, just as an exceptional student also can still be produced bya Low Performing school.

    However, across-the-board positive ratings must be the goal forevery school and district. With the new accountability results inhand, administrators and teachers now know their strengths andweaknesses and where more attention needs to be focused.