Columbia Public Schools

Dr. Chris Belcher

Superintendent of Schools

1818 West Worley Street Columbia, Missouri 65203 (573) 214-3400 (573) 214-3401 Fax www.columbia.k12.mo.us

Embargo Until 12:01 a.m., Thursday, August 4, 2011

Date: Contact: Phone: Fax: August 3, 2011 Dr. Chris Belcher (573) 214-3410 (573) 214-3401 or Dr. Sally Beth Lyon (573) 214-3413

Columbia Public Schools Receives Achievement Data

Columbia, MO Preliminary Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) results, one measure of school and school district performance, have been released by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Columbia Public Schools 2011 MAP results overall are at an all-time high in mathematics and communication arts scores remained consistent with the same high scores as last year. Results have also increased in every grade in science from 2010. Additionally, Columbia Public Schools students exceeded state results in grades 5 and 7 in communication arts, and in grades 5 and 8 in mathematics. Students in grades 5 and 8 also exceeded state results in science. Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Chris Belcher believes the MAP results are encouraging. Given the continuing budget reductions, reductions in employees and resources, we are pleased to see these results, he said. It is a credit to the students, teachers, staff and families who worked hard throughout the year. The 2011 MAP results also include data from the end-of-course exams in Algebra 1/Integrated I, English II and biology. These end-of-course tests were added in 2009 and replace the MAP tests that were previously given at the high school level. Students outperformed the state on all three high school assessments. The noticeable bump in Algebra is due to a change in testing, as well as improved scores. MAP is an assessment developed by the state to measure district and school success. It is one of many measures the district uses. As required by the national No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), MAP student performance data must be broken down by subgroups. Those subgroups include racial and ethnic categories; free and reducedprice lunch categories; students receiving special education services; and students with limited English proficiency. Each subgroup is required to meet the same proficiency goals. If any one subgroup does not reach the goal, individual schools as well as the district can receive a designation of not meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP). In 2011, federal requirements for race reporting changed. Students can now identify themselves as multi-racial. As a result, year-to-year comparisons between racial subgroups will be difficult. The change also increased the number of subgroups to 10. 1

Each year, the proficiency goal for subgroups in each content area tested increases. In 2011, the proficiency goal for communication arts is 75.5 percent and 72.5 percent in mathematics. This compares to 67.4 percent in communication arts and 63.3 percent in mathematics in 2010. By 2014, 100 percent of all students are to be performing at the proficient and advanced levels. Preliminary AYP results indicate the district met AYP in two out of ten subgroups in mathematics and zero out of ten groups in communication arts. NCLB requires that schools or districts not meeting AYP in a subject area for all subgroups two years in a row be designated as school improvement. Among the districts Title I schools, Parkade Elementary School was designated as school improvement for the fifth year in a row. Alpha Hart Lewis was designated as school improvement for the first time. Blue Ridge Elementary School is in school improvement for the fourth year in a row. Benton Elementary School is designated as school improvement delayed having met AYP in mathematics. Douglass High School, Derby Ridge and West Boulevard elementary schools are entering school improvement for the third time. Cedar Ridge Elementary School was designated as a Title I school in 2011 and has no sanctions. Additionally, because individual schools are designated as needing improvement the district as a whole is also designated as district improvement for the third year in a row. Only schools designated as Title I schools are eligible for corrective action under the school improvement designation. Title I is a federal funding program designed to aid schools with disadvantaged students. Among schools not designated with Title I status, Grant Elementary School met AYP proficiency targets in both communication arts and mathematics for all subgroups. Midway Heights, Mill Creek, Ridgeway and Two Mile Prairie elementary schools also do not face sanctions. Hickman High School, Jefferson and Oakland junior high schools, Gentry, Lange and Smithton middle schools are in their fifth year of school improvement. West Junior High School and Rock Bridge High School are in their fourth year of school improvement status. Lee, Rock Bridge, Russell Boulevard and Shepard Boulevard elementary schools are in school improvement for the third year. Paxon Keeley and New Haven elementary schools are in their second year of school improvement. Fairview Elementary School is in a delayed year of school improvement. This means the school remains in its current improvement status because it met AYP proficiency targets in communication arts in 2011. All schools will focus on how the results of these assessments can help measure progress toward the districts school improvement and student achievement goals. The district remains concerned about the low achievement of some subgroups. AYP is making it very difficult for schools to meet the set targets. Our interest is and will always remain on an individual childs progress, Belcher said. Measuring a child against himself is a better indicator of growth rather than relying on an artificial target. Our district is using growth scores for students, including the GRADE assessment administered for the first time this past school year. Attached are highlights of the district MAP results, including a summary of AYP performance for each school building. Also attached is additional data including proficiency comparisons and trend analysis. Additional information on state MAP performance may be obtained on DESEs Web site at www.dese.mo.gov. Final results for MAP and AYP will not be available until September.

Columbia Public Schools 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress Status (Based on Preliminary 7/27/11 Data)
District Improvement Level 3 Corrective Action, Continuing CPS School Improvement Level 5, Restructuring, Implementation Parkade ES Non Title I School Improvement Year 5 Hickman HS Jefferson Jr HS Oakland Jr HS Gentry MS Lange MS Smithton MS Non Title I School Improvement Year 4 West Jr HS Rock Bridge HS Non Title I School Improvement Year 3 Lee ES Rock Bridge ES Russell Blvd ES Shepard ES Non Title I School Improvement Year 2 New Haven ES Paxton Keeley ES Non Title I School Improvement Year 1, Delayed Fairview ES Non Title I No Sanctions Grant ES Midway Heights ES Mill Creek ES Ridgeway ES Two Mile Prairie ES

School Improvement Level 4 Restructuring, Planning Blue Ridge ES School Improvement Level 3 Corrective Action Delayed Benton ES School Improvement Level 3 Corrective Action Douglass HS Derby Ridge ES West Blvd ES School Improvement Level 1 Alpha Hart ES

Title I No Sanctions Cedar Ridge ES

Data Source: MO DESE Website MCDS Reports, Data as of 7/27/11 CPS Office of Research

POSITIVE TRENDS IN MAP TESTING IN COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Growth data became available in 2008

POSITIVE TRENDS IN MAP TESTING IN COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

EOC exam data became available in 2009

Combined Percent of Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Students Scoring Proficient or Advanced on Mathematics and Communication Arts MAP Tests, and Number of Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Students enrolled K-12 in Columbia Public Schools, over time.

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New Federal Subgroup Category

Number of Students From Previous Group now Percent of Multiracial Identified as Mutliracial Group 10 1.0% 60 6.3% 423 44.2% 29 3.0% 7 70.0% 354 37.0% 73 7.6% 956

Previous Racial Identification American Indian Asian Black Hispanic Pacific Islander White Blank Total Students Currently Identified as Multiracial

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