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Schools get good grades photo by Jim Craven By Damian Mann A majority of Jackson County schools made sweeping gains in student performance in the state�s second annual "report card" on education. Of the 54 schools in the county, 39 � or 72 percent � posted better grades than last year. North and South Medford high schools and Prospect School received poor marks in "student behavior," a category that some administrators feel paints an inaccurate picture of attendance and dropout rates. The report cards released Thursday by the Oregon Department of Education are based on student performance in 2000, particularly state tests, followed by attendance and dropout rates, SAT scores and teacher education. Schools earn grades of exceptional, strong, satisfactory, low or unacceptable. In the county, 24 schools received satisfactory overall ratings, 24 posted strong scores and two � Jacksonville and Jefferson elementary schools � were given exceptional marks. Statewide, just 43 schools earned this achievement. Only three schools showed declines in performance: Orchard Hill Elementary School in the Phoenix-Talent School District and Elk Trail and White City elementary schools in the Eagle Point School District. Medford, Ashland, Central Point and Rogue River have a total of 26 schools that had strong or exceptional scores in student performance, meaning 68 percent or better of the students met or exceeded state reading, writing and math tests. The Medford area�s 18 schools surged ahead in scores, with 13 posting grades of strong or above, and the rest receiving satisfactory marks. Almost all these schools showed academic gains. Most of the seven schools in Ashland showed improvement and all received a grade of strong. Even though the scores were generally welcomed, many administrators don�t necessarily feel the state�s testing method gives an accurate or clear picture of a school�s academics. "The state Department of Education gets an F," said North Medford High School Principal Don Lacey. "The school report card is not a good indicator of how the school is doing. It is nothing more than data." Lacey, whose school received an overall satisfactory rating, said a state category known as "student behavior" is a misnomer that really just measures attendance and dropouts rates. Although these rates have worsened at North Medford, Lacey said his school is being penalized for encouraging dropouts to come back to school, particularly night school. This program began two years ago when attendance levels were higher. "We are trying to force kids who wouldn�t otherwise come to school," he said. "They drop and enroll, drop and enroll, several times over one year." This affects both attendance and dropout rates and isn�t reflected in the state�s report card, he said. Jacksonville Elementary School Principal Robert Goercke attributed the exceptional score to hard work on the part of teachers and support from the community. But he said the report cards are a "gimmicky sort of thing" that don�t take into account arts and other programs that might be offered at a school. Ashland Schools Superintendent Juli DiChiro credits most of the success of her district on her strong teaching staff, but wanted to downplay the competitive nature of the report cards. "It is hard to quantify some of the things going on in the schools." DiChiro urged parents not to use the report cards as the only way of assessing a school. As time goes by, she said, it will become more and more difficult for schools on the high end of the rating system to improve scores, particularly at the high school level where the tests are much tougher. Phoenix-Talent Superintendent Dave Willard said Orchard Hill Elementary was the only one in his district to show a slight decline in its rating, but he is generally pleased with the scores. Overall, though, he finds fault with the report card system because it only tests students in grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. "One of the downfalls to this system is you�re testing a different batch of kids each year," he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.