Postville Community Schools make monumental gains in State Performance Ratings

The Iowa Department of Education recently released updates to the Iowa School Performance Profiles which is an online accountability reporting system for Iowa Schools.  The website shows how schools are performing on multiple measures and meeting federal and state requirements for publishing report cards reflecting school performance.   

The Iowa School Performance Profiles consist of scores and ratings for the following measures: test participation, academic achievement, testing growth, growth for English Language Learners, student input for conditions of learning, graduation rates, and post-secondary readiness. 

The Federal and State Departments of Education classify schools according to these accountability measures.  Federal benchmarks determine whether schools are considered comprehensive or targeted status while Iowa’s rating system categorizes schools according to their achievement levels which are exceptional, high performing, commendable, acceptable, needs improvement, and priority. 

The overall score provides a single number which is the sum of the measures listed above.  The Cora B. Darling Elementary School has a total score of 55.83 which is above the state average of 54.94.  The new score of 55.83 shows a growth of 11.88 points from last year which was 46.72.  The Cora B. Darling Elementary has met the federal benchmarks for both comprehensive and targeted criteria whereas the state’s performance category is commendable.

The John R. Mott Jr/Sr High School had a total score of 50.42 which is close to the state benchmark of 54.94.  The good news is the 7-12 grade score improved from last year 45.9 to 50.42 this year which is a 4.52 increase.  The John R. Mott Jr./Sr. High School has met the federal benchmarks for both comprehensive and targeted criteria whereas the state’s performance category is acceptable.   

In particular, the Jr./Sr. High students scored the highest with testing participation at nearly 100% for reading and mathematics.  On the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, reading proficiency was 51.69% and math proficiency was 43.5%.  Probably the most important score is for reading growth, the Jr./Sr. High School demonstrates a score of 50% with the state average being 50%.  Finally, the district’s 5-year graduation rate is above the state average. The district’s 5-year graduation rate is 94.23% and the state average is 93.31%. 

Read the full article in the Febraury 12 edition of the Postville Herald.