State Releases Test Scores
The state Board of Education approved the release of testing data at the September 4th regular meeting. In Alexander County, the scores show areas of growth and those that need attention.
The district had three schools that exceeded expected growth: Alexander Early College, Stony Point Elementary School, and West Alexander Middle School. The news is especially welcomed at Stony Point. The school had lagging scores the year prior.
“Our Stony Point teaching family all just want to give it 100% every day,” says fifth-grade teacher Jordan Hefner.
In particular, Stony Point students and teachers did well on fifth-grade math earning the school an overall score of a “C”.
“We were able to hit specific small groups, those middle floaters and I think one of the biggest things that will hopefully show in our growth numbers is we were able to offer our AIG or our top 10 percent kids some great opportunities a couple days a week in each subject area, so I think that really helped us as well,” says Hefner.
The district had two schools the state labeled low performing in 2022-23. Based on the latest results, there are four schools considered to be low performing. Schools are categorized as low performing if the School Performance Grade is a “D” or an “F” and the school either met expected growth or did not meet. East Alexander Middle School, Hiddenite Elementary, Sugar Loaf Elementary, and Wittenburg Elementary are among the schools the state labeled low performing; some of the schools missed meeting growth expectations by just a fraction of a point.
East teachers and administrators are reviewing results closely. The school has increased its performance grade over the past three years but is still ranked a “D”.
Principal Brett Huffman says, “In the last two years we have had 6.27 points of total growth for all students at East. We are continuing to make strides through small group instruction in our classrooms as well as incorporating more feedback from administration and our instructional coach.”
Huffman came to the school in December 2022. He says he and the staff are committed to continuous improvement.
“It's positive to see the amount of growth we have been able to make. Our teachers and staff are continuing their commitment to providing the best education and experience possible for our students,” says Huffman.
Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Amy Bowles says improvements are in the works.
“We at Alexander County Schools take pride in the hard work our administrators, teachers, staff, and students put into making this district a great place to attend. There are many reasons to celebrate what happens in our schools every day. We recognize there are some areas we need to improve, and are already developing plans to focus on specific components that lack growth and continue developing those that have been successful. We are dedicated to continuous improvement across the district,” said Bowles.
State School Superintendent Catherine Truitt believes training in reading for middle school and high school teachers could help overall scores. Elementary teachers have already completed comparable training.
“We must invest in similar, developmentally appropriate professional learning for middle and high school teachers as well. This was a critical piece of our legislative agenda for the short session and must be something the legislature considers in the long session,” Truitt said.
Truitt is among the critics of the way the schools are assigned the letter grades. Some believe the state should put more emphasis on the school’s growth than performance. Currently, schools are graded 80% based on how many students passed the tests and 20% on how much students grew.
“Throughout my tenure as state superintendent, I have advocated for a new way of calculating school performance grades. The current model puts far too much emphasis on a single-day's test scores, and doesn’t take into account the many other factors, such as durable skills, post-secondary outcomes and school climate that impact both school quality and student success,” Truitt said.
State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis went further saying we should “resist using results to punish schools.” Davis continued saying there is an overreliance on test schools and performance.
The state has a committee studying what factors should go into school grades (i.e. attendance, extracurriculars offered); however, there’s no indication the 80-20 formula will change. Any adjustment in how scores are calculated would require a vote by state lawmakers.
Across the state, the number of low-performing schools decreased from 804 to 736 in 2023-2024 from the year before.
2021-22 School Letter Grades |
2021-22 Growth scores |
State Label |
2022-23 School Letter Grades |
2022-23 Growth Scores |
State Label |
2023-24 School Letter Grades |
2023-24 Growth Grades |
State Label |
|
ACHS |
B |
Exceeded |
N/A |
B |
Met |
N/A |
C |
Not Met |
N/A |
AEC |
A |
Exceeded |
N/A |
A |
Exceeded |
N/A |
A |
Exceeded |
N/A |
BES |
C |
Not Met |
N/A |
B |
Met |
N/A |
B |
Met |
N/A |
EAMS |
D |
Not Met |
Low Performing |
D |
Not Met |
Low Performing |
D |
Not Met |
Low Performing |
EES |
C |
Not Met |
N/A |
C |
Not Met |
N/A |
C |
Met |
N/A |
HES |
D |
Not Met |
Low Performing |
D |
Not Met |
Low Performing |
D |
Met |
Low Performing |
SPES |
C |
Met |
N/A |
C |
Met |
N/A |
C |
Exceeded |
N/A |
SLES |
C |
Not Met |
N/A |
B |
Met |
N/A |
D |
Not Met |
Low Performing |
TES |
C |
Not Met |
N/A |
C |
Not Met |
N/A |
C |
Met |
N/A |
WAMS |
C |
Exceeded |
N/A |
B |
Exceeded |
N/A |
B |
Exceeded |
N/A |
WES |
D |
Not Met |
N/A |
C |
Met |
N/A |
D |
Met |
Low Performing |