RFP Staff
♦ Yesterdays Rowan-Salisbury’s Board of Education meeting at the Long Street Administration Building began with a children’s award ceremony and a discussion about the school systems’energy performance contract with Energy Systems Group Board. Energy savings were discussed and a list of savings was presented.
A brief presentation about draft contracts for the planned school system central office, Knox Middle School and new elementary school projects. This was followed by a talk about the current appeals committee process and background check process.
Focus was given to the upcoming Literacy Summit which is scheduled for the September 26th at Hood Theological Seminary. Discussion centered on the delivery of these services and not the specific methods to be employed in making headway with illiteracy, a challenge in many Rowan-Salisbury School System especially schools within Salisbury’s boundaries.
The highlight of the evening was Dr. Julie Morrow, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, and Dr. Chaunte Garret, Director of Testing and Accountability examination results from the 2013-14 Accountability Report from the N.C. Department of Public Education. The State Ready Report is due out February 5th, 2015. Individual schools and the entire district were graded and compared with past performances.
According to the presenters the Rowan-Salisbury School System’s performance during the 2013-14 school year remained consistent, yet lagged behind the state in test scores and other accountability measures.
Dr. Chaunte’ Garrett told the board: “We are a district undergoing transformation. Throughout all these transformations, we have maintained our progress.”
School scores appeared to have improved due to the state changing the way it measures student achievement levels. In 2012-2013 student achievement was measured in four tiers. In 2013-2014 there were five.
Garrett told the board: “We can’t really compare this year to last year because of the changes in the achievement level. Proficiency levels, though different, still tend to be roughly 10 points below the state average in nearly every category.”
The composite performance scores for the School System and the state during the 2013-14 school year were 45.9 and 56.3, respectively. The difference being 10.4 percentage points. The previous year the difference was 9.8 percentage points. The composite performance scores measured the overall proficiency of all students in all classes.
Yesterday’s slide show presentation told this story:
“Math scores were 48.8, 40.1 and 44.4 for third, fourth and fifth grades in Rowan Salisbury elementary Schools. The state’s scores were 60.8, 54.3 and 56.4 for the same grades.
Reading proficiency rates for third fourth and fifth grades were 52.1, 47 and 44.8 in the district and 60.2, 55.6 and 53.8% in the state.
Math proficiency rates were 31.8, 33.5 and 32 percent for sixth, seventh and eighth grades in the district and 46.8, 46 and 42.2% in the state.
Reading scores were 49, 50.6 and 47.3 for the same grades in Rowan-Salisbury middle schools and 56.8, 57.3 and 54.2 in the state.
High school proficiency in biology, English and math were 45.7, 54.5 and 46.8 percent in the district, and 53.9, 61.2 and 60% in the state.
ACT scores dropped .4 percentage points in the district, while state scores rose .8 percentage points.
Growth status measuring the impact of instruction, is broken into three categories: exceeds, meets and does not meet expectations.
The district’s percentage of schools that do not meet expectations is slightly lower than the state average – 22.9 percent compared to the state’s 25.4 percent.
Only 11.4% of the district’s schools exceed growth expectations – a 20-percentage point gap behind the state.
Granite Quarry, Isenberg, Landis and North Rowan elementary schools, Southeast Middle and North Rowan, South Rowan and West Rowan high schools did not meet growth rate expectations.
Millbridge and Rockwell elementary schools, North Rowan Middle and East Rowan High School exceeded growth expectations.”
