In The News: State releases school and district report cards

Written by: Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic 

The informational documents do not include comparative scores

The Oregon Department of Education released its district and school report cards last week, but for the second consecutive year they do not include overall ratings for schools.

The state is planning to redesign the cards in response to passage of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind and grants states greater flexibility to build systems that support local schools.

The report cards help districts share information on demographics, student performance on state assessments, student outcomes and educational programs, but the state is responding to feedback from teachers, families and communities that the report cards should provide a more holistic view of schools, including its strengths.

The redesigned report cards are scheduled for implementation in fall 2018.

New to the report cards this year is immunization data. Newberg High School for example, reported that 97 percent of its students have all required vaccinations, although counted among the 3 percent who don’t are students with medical exemptions, nonmedical exemptions, no immunization records or up­to­date but incomplete records.

For the past two years, the reports have included median class size by subject for secondary schools, which are compared to state averages.

Newberg High School’s median class size for English Language Arts remained stable at 28 (compared to the state average of 24) from a year ago, as it did for science, which again matched the state average of 26.

NHS saw that figure for math rise from 27 to 30, which is six students over the state average of 24. The median social studies class also swelled from 29 to 30.5, with the state average climbing from 26 to 27.

St. Paul High School’s report card did not contain median class size by subject, but its median for self-contained classes is 15, well below the state average of 25. It also boasts a 99 percent immunization rate.

Newberg Public Schools communications director Claudia Stewart said the district does not get many inquiries from parents about the school report cards. Rather, the report cards tend to be used by district staff as a resource for district data needed for grant applications or by parents who are investigating schools while looking at where to move.

“Parents have a relationship with their school already, with the people there,” Stewart said. “They have experience which is much more influential than what the state is releasing in terms of data about their students’ school.”

To view school and district report cards, visit www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx.