School Report Card
Each year, the Department of Public Instruction assigns every public school in North Carolina a "report card", a tool intended to help families and stakeholders understand how the school is growing and succeeding, as well as areas of need. The School Report Card grade ranges from A to F based on a composite score made of of proficiency on standardized testing and student growth from year to year as measured by those same tests. Currently, proficiency makes up 80% of the overall composite score and growth comprises 20%, although the state legislature has discussed alternatives to this equation to better represent schools and our state superintendent, Mark Johnson, is currently rethinking testing in NC. Like all data, the School Report Card offers one part of a larger picture about a school.
Pioneer Springs’ academic program has cumulatively resulted in significant growth for students and the school. The 2014-15 composite score, the first year the school participated in state testing, was a 48 which is a D grade. This feedback resulted in a realignment of our curriculum maps and an emphasis on math instruction, the product of which was a 10 point gain on the composite score in 2015-16– 58, a C. Continued professional development and a singular focus on individualized instruction produced even greater gain the next year, 2016-17. The school earned a composite score of 69, a C (1 point shy of a B!) Our continued focus was on refining our curriculum alignment and the incorporation of the Expeditionary Learning model for English Language Arts instruction. Pioneer Springs again earned a C report card for the 17-8 school year because, while the school continued to meet target growth for reading and exceeded state averages for science scores (almost 80% proficiency!), math scores were below our targets for the year. This feedback, along with our own in-house benchmarking data, informed planning for the 18-19 school year which includes the adoption of Ready Math instructional materials for 3rd through 7th grade and the use of NC Check Ins for benchmarking in the 2nd and 3rd trimester.
Also relevant to the 18-19 school year is Pioneer Springs's designation as a Targeted Support and Improvement school (TSI-AT). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA- 2016) allows schools systems to apply for federal funding and, in exchange, requires actions intended to scaffold the continued growth and development of students. In North Carolina, that commitment includes helping school districts identify areas for growth based on performance data from the last two years. Pioneer Springs's area of targeted assistance is the increase in proficiency by Students with Disabilities as measured by EOGs, and our efforts to address this growth potential will include the development of a comprehensive data-driven plan 'hit the target'. To check out the data for yourself go to https://ncreportcards.ondemand.sas.com/src or contact Dr. Rebecca Friend, Director of Operations and Academics, at beckyf@pioneersprings.org if you have questions.
Read to Achieve: In accordance with General Statute 115C-218.85, following are the results of the 3rd grade Read to Achieve mandate for the 2017-18 school year. Of 41 students, 24 students or 59% met the benchmark through standardized or alternate testing and 17 students, or 41.4%, did not meet the benchmark. 8 of those students, or 19.5%, were granted Good Cause Exemptions; 3 of those students, or 7%, withdrew from the school at the end of the 16-17 school year. At present, we are awaiting Read to Achieve scores to determine what percent, if any, of students will be retained according to RTA legislation.
