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ASD gains more good marks Wire, staff reports The majority of Oregon schools got a "B" or "C" grade on the state's fourth annual report card, but the number of schools at both the top and bottom of the scale increased. The Legislature passed a law in 1999 that requires the Oregon Department of Education to grade schools every year to let parents and communities know how the schools are performing. According to the Ashland School District report card, the majority of local schools are earning strong performances. "The report card, I feel as an elementary principal, is meant to have you reflect on what you've been doing and brainstorm and collaborate with staff on what more you can do because you can always improve," said Juanita Fagan, Bellview Elementary Principal. Bellview, Helman and Briscoe Elementary Schools in addition to Ashland Middle School received strong to exceptional ratings while Ashland High School, Lincoln and Walker Elementary Schools' scores ranged from satisfactory to exceptional. All schools improved or stayed the same with the exception of Lincoln, which declined from the previous year's report. According to Lincoln Principal Susan Hollandsworth, attendance is a concern for the school. "We do watch that (attendance) and we're encouraging parents as well to pay attention to attendance and tardiness. If Lincoln's attendance improved up to 95 percent, then it would almost place us at exceptional," Hollandsworth said. Fagan said the district's high marks can be attributed to the dedicated teaching staff, phenomenal students and supportive community. "That is what makes our district so successful," she said. Of Jackson County's 53 schools rated this year, five schools' overall ratings were exceptional, 20 rated strong and 28 earned satisfactory, low or unacceptable. In 2000-2001, four were rated exceptional, 24 were rated strong and 25 were satisfactory. "I am very pleased with the results of this report card," said state school Superintendent Susan Castillo, a former lawmaker who just started on the job this month. Ninety-one schools statewide earned an "A" on the latest report card compared to 50 last year. The number of schools that earned an "F," however, grew from none last year to seven this year and the number of schools with a "D" doubled, from 14 to 28. The number of "B" schools declined from 563 last year to 399 for the 2003 report card. The number of schools that earned a "C" increased from 485 to 557. Despite the improvement at the top of the scale, state officials noted a discrepancy between rankings for elementary schools and those for middle and high schools, said Gene Evans, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education. Of the schools that earned an "A" on the report card, 81 were elementary schools, while all seven of the schools with an "F" were high schools, he said. "High schools by far fall into the satisfactory - or "C" - category," Evans said. "Oregon has put a lot of attention at the elementary school level in reading and math and that has paid off, but the opportunity cost of that is the attention hasn't gone to middle and high schools." Evans said the six high schools that did receive an "A" must also share their strategies with other schools so everyone can improve. "The data that schools collect now is light years beyond what we had a decade ago," he said. "What we need to do is work with the middle schools and high schools to do an analysis of their data. We do have some strong high schools, so what are they doing right?" Castillo said schools rated as low or unacceptable would receive additional help from the state and are required to submit improvement plans by June 30. Schools are graded primarily on standardized test scores, with additional points on attendance rates, dropout rates, the percentage of students who take state tests and whether the schools have improved. But standards have been toughened and a school no longer can get a satisfactory grade if its students only come close to meeting state reading and math benchmarks. Educators say response to the rankings varies. "It just depends on who you ask," says Melinda Bessner, dean of students at Portland's Marshall High School, where "low" report card ratings in 1999 and 2002 led to federal sanctions this year. "I am someone who is paying very close attention to the release of these report cards," she said. "But a lot of teachers are paying more attention to everything that is happening with Measure 28 and the talk of a furlough." --- On the Net: Oregon Department of Education: http://www.ode.state.or.us LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -