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Alpha Plus Blog: Alpha Plus News, Materials, Partners, and Education Materials
Alpha Plus Blog
Our latest press releases, and Oklahoma Education news. Subscribe for our teaching tips and resources for school improvement.
Critical Look at State School Report Cards Requires Recognition of Challenges – and Ways to Overcome Them
Since 2019 Oklahoma School Report Cards were issued a few short weeks ago, we’ve heard from a wide range of leaders cautioning their use as an accurate tool for measuring student success.
Those criticizing the report cards rightly point out that the needs of a school’s student population are impacted by factors that can’t be controlled by teachers and school administration.
Things like poverty, a high percentage of English Language Learners (ELL) and chronic absenteeism do indeed impact student success. What some miss though, is that the State School Report Cards already account for these when the grades are figured.
Many people also may not realize that there are schools in Oklahoma where those factors are in play, yet the schools are scoring well on the State School Report Cards.
For example, one of the schools we work with is Guymon. Guymon, as you likely know, is located in the Oklahoma panhandle. Their percentage of ELL students and the percentage families below the poverty line are exceedingly high, at 59% and 78%.
Yet Academy Elementary and North Park Elementary in Guymon, with all their challenges, managed a passing grade of C on this year’s state school report card.
The same can be said of Darlington Public Schools. The students at Darlington are 77.3% Native American, and the district has a 99.2% poverty rate. Still, Darlington’s report grade went up from a C in 2018 to a B in 2019.
The students in Guymon and Darlington are not smarter than students in other districts. The reality is that most people have the cognitive ability to pass a standardized test if they are effectively taught what will be measured.
That’s what’s happening in Guymon and Darlington. Students are taught based on Oklahoma Academic Standards. Teachers have instant access to student data, allowing for individual student remediation and ultimate success – regardless of the student population’s notable challenges.
Of course, low rates of student proficiency can be related to poverty, trauma, teacher shortages, unsafe facilities, language deficiencies, inadequate funding or simply insufficient local support. These realities are present in almost every school, yet not every community mobilizes to address them.
The Oklahoma School Report Cards are an annual call to action. We should celebrate successful schools and rally to the aid of those who need our help.
The criticism of the report cards I agree with most is that they are “essentially grading entire communities’ performances.” These grades do not mean the students are failing; they mean we are failing the students.
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We Use Data to Help Schools on the Way to an A!
Teachers and administrators can quickly and easily identify students who need more help learning the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
Alpha Plus pinpoints the SPECIFIC OAS objectives or "gaps" students have from previous years, then helps school teams address each objective throughout the year.
That is why Alpha Plus schools have OUTPERFORMED the state average every year of the A-F Report Cards.
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