Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home 11th-graders are doing better across the board compared to similar school districts and are generally close to statewide academic performance, according to the Oregon Department of Education district report cards released Thursday.
The district’s lower grades, though, trail their counterparts throughout the state, on average, in English and math. Foster and Hawthorne performance was around that of similar schools. Sweet Home Charter School performed better across the board than schools statewide and among similar schools. (See page 11 for school-specific statistics.)
At the high school level, “we’re above like districts and close to state averages” for performance on state assessment tests, said Supt. Tom Yahraes. “The high school shows strong performance gains in English language arts, science and graduation rate.”
While the district’s 11th-graders performed well in state assessment testing last school year, the lower grades are lagging behind the state and similar districts in math and language arts except in math where sixth- through eighth-grade students were ahead of similar districts and science where elementary students matched performance in similar districts.
The report cards do not contain the traditional overall ratings, such as “satisfactory” or “exceptional.”
Instead, the report cards contain statistics and data to “reflect changes to Oregon’s educational system so that parents and community members are provided with the most current, relevant, and important information about their school and districts,” according to the Oregon Department of Education. “The new report cards allow schools and districts to better tell their unique stories in a more visual and user-friendly way.”
The high school graduation rate, the number of students who actually walked away with a diploma, reached 71.7 percent in 2015-16, up from 67.2 percent in 2014-15 and 63.8 percent in 2013-14.
The completion rate for Sweet Home high-schoolers, the number who finished any formal certificate program, such as a GED, reached 75.6 percent in 2015-16, up from 72.6 percent in 2014-15 but below 81.3 percent in 2013-14.
The dropout rate was just 3.8 percent in 2015-16, down from 6.3 percent in 2014-15 and 5.3 percent in 2013-14.
Information about 2016-17 graduation rates will be released by the ODE on Jan. 25.
In high school, “our math was very, very low two years ago,” Yahraes said. “Last year, we brought our math up, and we are now performing at like-district averages in math. We’re lagging behind the state.”
Flip the page, the graduation and dropout rates are moving in the right direction, he said.
Last year, among third- through fifth-grade students, 36 percent met or exceeded state standards in English language arts, down from 37.8 percent. Statewide, 49.6 percent of students met or exceeded the standard, and in similar districts, 43.7 percent met or exceeded standards.
In sixth- to eighth-grade English language arts, 43.7 percent met or exceeded state standards, down from 49 percent in 2015-16. Statewide, 55.2 percent met or exceeded standards. In similar districts, 46.4 percent met or exceeded standards.
In the 11th grade English language arts, 70.1 percent met or exceeded standards in English language arts, up from 56.7 percent in 2015-16. Statewide, 71.1 percent of students reached the standard, while 67.5 percent met the standard in similar districts.
In third- through fifth-grade math, 33.4 percent of students met or exceeded the standard, up from 31 percent in 2015-16. Statewide, 43.6 percent reached the standard, while 36.4 percent met the standard in similar districts.
In the sixth- through eighth grade, 37.7 percent of students met or exceeded the math standard, down from 39.1 percent. Statewide, 41.9 percent of students reached the standard. In similar districts, 33 percent met the standard.
In 11th-grade math, 32.9 percent met or exceeded the math standard, up from 26.3 percent in 2015-16 and 19 percent in 2014-15. Statewide, 35.3 percent met the standard. In similar district, 31.3 percent reached the standard.
In third- through sixth-grade science, 64.8 percent of students met the standard, down from 69.7 percent. Statewide, 66 percent met the standard, while in similar districts, 64.8 percent reached the standard.
In the eighth grade, 54.8 percent met the science standard, up from 53.8 in 2015-16. Statewide, 62.8 percent reached the standard. In similar districts, 57.4 percent met the standard.
In 11th-grade science, 68 percent met the standard, up from 62.6 percent in 2015-16. Statewide, 57.8 percent met the standard, while in similar districts 54.5 percent reached the standard.
The district wants to promote and recognize growth, he said. If the standard is a 7-minute mile, and some kids are running a 14-minute mile, it’s a big gap to close.
“If they move performance to a 12-minute mile, we’ve showed growth,” Yahraes said. “If a kid is at a seven-minute mule, we want those kids to improve as well.”
The district is focused on growth for all students, Yahraes said. “We want to give every student every chance to thrive and achieve their potential. To realize this, each school sets goals and strives to help students reach the highest level of progress within a given year.
“While we are pleased with some areas of growth, we are not satisfied with our overall levels of academic performance. The information from the state assessments will guide our professional development, inform our data teams and decision-making and help set goals for improvement at each school.”
The district spent the last year making large structural changes to better achieve this, he said. The district switched the schedule from a four-day week to a five-day week, increasing the number of instructional days from 147 to 171 this year – decreasing “instructional slide” over a three-day weekend.
The district added 35 professional development Wednesdays instead of bi-weekly professional development Fridays, Yahraes said. “We’re more intentional about our professional development too.”
Elementary and junior high teachers have more prep time with the addition of PE, and the elementary staff has been increased by three teachers since the beginning of last year, all of them made permanent this year.
The district has set itself up structurally for success, Yahraes said. “It’s a great time to be in Sweet Home. We look at this report card perhaps as a student (does). We will continue to work hard for our children in Sweet Home.”