The Oregon Department of Education released report cards for all Oregon schools and districts this week. The report cards for the Corvallis School District and all schools within the district provide a snapshot of student demographics, performance on state assessment tests, specific programs and electives offered at individual schools, and comparative information for similar school districts. The report cards include data from the 2016-17 Smarter Balanced assessments as well as graduation data from 2015-16.
These reports give district leaders indicators of student performance and provide a starting point to look closely at student data and ask more questions. Even the ‘success’ stories include a small percentage of students that need additional support. Starting with district aggregate data, and working to school data and then individual student results, school data teams are looking for patterns and linkages with risk factors that can include attendance, grades, and credits earned. Identifying these patterns ensures that students receive the help needed to be successful in school.
Unlike other school and district assessment reports, the report cards provide an additional indicator in the form of like-district and like-school averages. The intent of the like-district average is to provide a more meaningful comparison indicator made up of 20 Oregon districts with similar demographics and student enrollment to that of Corvallis. These include some smaller districts, such as Ashland, Dallas, and Newberg, as well as much larger districts, such as Albany, North Clackamas, Eugene, and Bend-LaPine.
Superintendent Ryan Noss notes that “the report cards are another way that we can share important information about the district and our schools with parents. I am pleased that our district, in comparison to both state averages and like-districts, continues to outperform in all areas, including freshman on track, 4-year graduation rate, 5-year completion rate, and the dropout rate,” notes Superintendent Ryan Noss. “We are committed to preparing our students for success after high school.”
The freshmen on track rate is an area of strength for Corvallis schools, with 91.3% of freshmen deemed “on track” to graduate within four years, compared with 90.4% last year. On track means a student has earned 25% of the credits required to graduate. A strong correlation exists between the number of credits earned during freshman year and the likelihood of graduating on time. For Corvallis, that translates to six credits earned by the end of a student’s freshman year. Over the last four years, Corvallis School District students have steadily improved in the freshman on track to graduate rate.
District and individual school report cards are available on the Oregon Department of Education website at the following link: http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx