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West Jefferson Schools rated Effective
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - September 01, 2010)
Jefferson Local Schools received an “Effective” rating on the 2009-10 state report card from the Ohio Department of Education, the same rating it received the previous year.
The district met 19 of the 26 state indicators. Superintendent William Mullett is especially proud of how sophomores performed on the Ohio graduation test, which accounts for five of the indicators. The percentage of students scoring proficient in each of the test’s five categories—reading, math, writing, science and social studies—was up across the board, exceeding the state’s minimum of 75 percent by anywhere from 9 percent (in science) to almost 24 percent (in writing).
“There were only six kids who didn’t pass reading and only one who didn’t pass writing,” Mullett said. Twelve missed the mark in math, 13 in social studies and 15 in science. “These scores include all of our kids, including those in special education.”
Individual building results
The biggest news at the building level is West Jefferson Middle School’s jump from “Academic Watch” up two levels to “Effective.”
“It’s due to the focused and concerted effort from our principal, Ms. (Debbie) Omen and the middle school staff,” Mullett said of the improvement. “Frankly, the previous year’s rating was disappointing, so from the beginning of last school year, the staff made it their commitment to improve that.”
The effort paid off most significantly in how West Jefferson middle-schoolers performed on the reading and math portions of the state achievement test. The number of students who passed reading was up 15 points at the sixth- and eighth-grade levels and 10 points at the seventh-grade level. For math, while the seventh-grade was down seven points, the sixth and eighth grades were up by 10 points and eight points, respectively.
The good news continued at West Jefferson High School, which had its best year ever on the state report card.
“The high school met 12 of the 12 indicators and had a performance index score of 102, its highest ever. That’s especially impressive because it’s a composite of all of the students,” Mullett said. “The high school has always been outstanding, achieving an Excellent rating several consecutive years... It's thanks to a good system and Mr. (Dave) Metz (the principal) and his staff taking this seriously.”
Norwood Elementary retained its “Effective” rating, despite meeting fewer building indicators, losing three points on the performance index, and slipping from scoring “above” on the value-added scale to “met.”
“We were disappointed in those scores and we think we can do better. We want the scores up where we had them in the past,” Mullett said.
Another area of concern for the district as a whole is adequate yearly progress (AYP), a set of goals set by the federal government with the ultimate goal being 100 percent proficiency among all students by 2014. Norwood Elementary and West Jefferson Middle School have not met the incremental goals the last few years. The high school has.
“It’s a moving target because the number you need to achieve goes higher and higher every year,” Mullett said.
For example, this year, 80 percent of West Jefferson’s fourth-graders have to pass the math portion of the state test to meet AYP. Next year, the target is 87 percent. In 2012-13, it’s 94 percent. In 2013-14, it’s 100 percent. Last year, 75 percent of West Jefferson’s fourth-graders passed math.
“I think AYP is a little unrealistic,” Mullett said.
To see Jefferson Local’s complete state report card, visit the Ohio Department of Education Web site at www.ode.state.oh.us.
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