Local schools are among those announce by Missouri Commissioner of Education as posting the highest scores in the state.
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Daviess County schools are among those announced by Missouri Commissioner of Education as posting the highest scores in the state last year on one or more parts of the 1999 Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) exams.
A special report, prepared by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, lists the highest performing schools in each of three subject areas at two grade levels in which the MAP exams were required last year. Principals and superintendents were notified of their schools’ achievement earlier this week.
Student achievement on the MAP exams is rated on a 5-step scale. “Advanced” is the highest possible level, and “Proficient” is the desired achievement level for all students. The report includes the following:
Junior High Math — Gallatin R-5 was among the top 10 schools with enrollment between 250 and 500 students scoring at the “Proficient” and “Advanced” levels on the MAP in junior high math (21% of the 8th graders);
High School Science — Winston R-6 and Tri-County R-7 at Jamesport were both among the top 10 schools with enrollment less than 250 students scoring at the”Proficient” and “Advanced” levels on the 1999 MAP in high school science (10% of the 10th graders at both schools).
Junior High Communication Arts — Winston R-6 was among the top 10 schools with enrollment of less than 250 students scoring at the “Proficient” and “Advanced” levels on the MAP in junior high communication arts (55% of the 7th graders).
Gilman City R-4, located just outside the county but with a substantial part of the district in northeast Daviess County, was among the top 10 schools with enrollment of less than 250 students scoring at the “Proficient” and “Advanced” levels on the MAP in High School Communication Arts (33% of the 11th graders).
Other neighboring schools on various lists were Hamilton and Bethany in junior high communication arts; Ridgeway in elementary science; Braymer and Trenton in junior high math; Osborn and Bethany in junior high science; Union Star and Lawson in high school communication arts; Stanberry, Lawson and Bethany in high school math; Stanberry and Osborn in high school science.
“We hope these data will be helpful to local school officials as they prepare for the next round of MAP testing during April and May,” says Commissioner of Education Robert E. Bartman. “These statistics demonstrate that schools can perform well against the high standards of MAP exams, and they give schools all over the state a target to shoot for.”
State officials also look at the percentage of students in a school who receive free or reduced- price lunches, in order to gauge the effects of family income on academic performance. Across Missouri these schools range from extremely low (3%) to extremely high (95%) in the number of low-income children served.
Students receiving free and reduced lunches in Daviess County schools were listed as follows: Gallatin 34%, Tri-County 53%, Winston 30%; Gilman City has 36% on free or reduced-lunches.
“We recognize that poverty can be a serious challenge to high academic achievement, but these data help confirm our belief that we can set high academic expectations for all children and schools in Missouri,” Commissioner Bartman says.
To be included in this report, a school had to have at least 10 students who were tested in a particular subject and grade, and at least 90% of all the students in a grade level had to participate in the exam. Because of tie scores, some of the “Top 10” lists actually included more than 10 schools.
More information about the Missouri Assessment Program and statewide results in each subject area are available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s web site: www.dese.state.mo.us/divinstr/assess/