Edwards Elementary School was identified as one of 28 top-performing Model Schools for the second consecutive year according to the Oregon K-12 report cards released Thursday. The top five percent of high-poverty schools in Oregon that sustain high levels of performance are designated as Model Schools.

This marks the third year the Oregon Department of Education has used a five-level rating scale that judges a school’s successes and challenges based on 2013-14 achievement results.  Schools are assigned a rating based on student achievement and growth on state reading and math tests. High school ratings include success at graduating students.

“Like student report cards, the state school report cards highlight school successes and challenges,” said Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza. “All Newberg district schools surpass the average performance of Oregon schools in reading and mathematics. Most of our schools out-perform schools with similar demographics.”

Edwards and Ewing Young elementary schools  continue to be rated in the top 10 percent of Oregon schools at a Level 5.

Level 4 schools perform in the top half of Oregon schools but below the top 10 percent. Antonia Crater, Dundee, Joan Austin and Mabel Rush elementary schools, plus Chehalem Valley and Mountain View middle schools are rated as Level 4.

Limited achievement growth, graduation rate and low-test participation among subgroups last year contributed to Newberg High School’s drop to a Level 2.

Much like national trends, Newberg’s challenge is to increase the graduation rate and continue to close the achievement gap for students who are low-income, have disabilities and whose first language is not English says LeBlanc-Esparza.  She adds that school leaders are specifically targeting these challenges through school improvement plans and the district’s strategic plan.

“While the state assessments give us some good data on our performance, we recognize it is only one data point we use to guide our work,” said LeBlanc-Esparza. “We rely on a body of evidence to help us make decisions to meet the needs of our students.”

Newberg School District and individual school report cards are on the district’s website.