Most Northwest Arkansas schools get A's or B's in latest state ratings

Northwest Arkansas' public schools received relatively high marks this year in the state's annual release of school letter grades.

In Benton and Washington counties 70% of the schools received either an A or B grade, whereas 47% statewide did the same. Northwest Arkansas accounted for three of the 150 D-rated schools and none of the 38 schools that got an F.

The A-to-F grades are based on each school's federal ESSA Index Score, a numerical score of 1 to 100 calculated using factors such as achievement on the standardized ACT Aspire tests given in grades three through 10 and gains on the tests compared to the past. ESSA stands for the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.

The letter grade is used for state accountability. The ESSA Index Score is used for federal accountability.

Two of the three schools that received a D are in Decatur, the region's smallest school district with an estimated 525 students. The high school and middle school got D's for the third straight year. There are signs of improvement: The high school's ESSA score rose five points from last year while the middle school's score increased seven points, leaving both schools just short of a C.

Decatur Superintendent Steven Watkins pointed to emphasis on academic interventions with students and a commitment to the state's new Reading Initiative for Student Excellence program, which trains teachers on the science of reading and instructional strategies.

"It's a process, but I believe our curriculum is solid, and we have a great group of teachers working hard every day," Watkins said. "Are we satisfied? Absolutely not. We'll continue to work to improve."

Arkansas law requires the state Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to publish on its website an annual performance report for each public school in the state. The report is to be easily understood by parents who are not professional educators.

Schools are neither punished nor rewarded for the grades they receive. However, the grades are indicative of which schools are likely to receive additional money through the Arkansas School Recognition Program, which provides financial awards to those schools placing in the top 10% in achievement and growth on the state assessments.

Schools among the lowest-performing 5% on those assessments are identified for comprehensive support and improvement.

'Work to do'

The Rogers School District earned all A's and B's except at Hill Elementary, which slipped from a C to a D, and Heritage High School, which remained at a C.

"We do know that we have some work to do with a couple of schools," particularly Heritage, Superintendent Marlin Berry said. "They came up in all of their scores over last year, but it wasn't enough to raise the C to a B."

Under the watch of new principal Jim Davis, Heritage raised its ESSA score from 62.91 last year to 65.76 this year -- about two points shy of a B.

Hill Elementary got a new principal and assistant principal this school year, a leadership change Berry said should help. He hopes a new elementary reading program, called Wit and Wisdom, will aid as well.

Berry said he wishes each school wasn't reduced to a single letter grade and each component of the overall grade could be highlighted with a grade of its own. He encouraged parents to call their school's principal or the district's central office if they have any questions about the grading system.

Springdale, the state's largest district, went a second consecutive year with all 29 schools receiving a C or better, including seven A's and eight B's. Three schools went down a grade, and two schools went up a grade.

Springdale's Har-Ber High School advanced from a C to a B for the first time with an ESSA score of 68.28 -- qualifying for a B by one-third of a point. Har-Ber, with about 2,200 students, represents about 10% of the district's enrollment.

Principal Paul Griep said teachers spend time daily in professional learning communities, where teachers of the same subject discuss the instructional strategies they're trying in their classrooms. That kind of collaboration has paid off, he said. He also credited strong support from parents.

Teachers also are getting better at using data from midyear assessments to analyze what their students need and personalize instruction for them, Griep said.

"I think that's where this profession has really evolved," he said. "You've seen teachers learn how to use data to know on a real-time basis how their kids are learning. It's just like a doctor looking at medical tests that come back and knowing whether the treatment helped or not."

Marcia Smith, Springdale's associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said the letter grades don't take into account all of the good things schools are doing. That includes career and technical education, which Springdale excels at, Smith said.

The letter grades also don't tell how well districts are teaching students the soft skills -- such as communication, collaboration and teamwork -- necessary to achieve in the real world, she said.

Other districts

Bentonville led all districts in the state in the number of A's received with 17, in part because it's one of the state's largest districts. Its number of A's is up one from last year. Neighboring schools West High and Centerton Gamble Elementary improved from a B to an A this year while one school, Osage Creek Elementary, dropped from an A to a B.

Fayetteville had six A's, six B's and three C's. Fayetteville High School dropped from an A to a B, while Washington Elementary and Owl Creek schools dropped from B's to C's. Ramay Junior High went up from a C to a B.

Each of Elkins' four schools received B's this year after three of the schools made the jump from C ratings they got last year. Jeremy Mangrum, now in his second year as superintendent of the 1,250-student district, said the improvement can be attributed to great effort on the part of both teachers and students.

"I think it really is validation for the staff," Mangrum said. "It's a big boost, and I know that will help them to continue to push the envelope. For us, districtwide, we're excited and happy with our progress, but we also are not satisfied or complacent."

More than 500 schools in Arkansas improved their overall ESSA Index Score in 2019 from the previous year. LISA Academy, a charter school in Springdale that took over Ozark Montessori Academy last school year, showed the largest jump among Northwest Arkansas schools with growth of 7.5 points in its ESSA score, raising its grade from a D to a C.

School grades are based largely on the standardized tests, not only on the students' achievement on those tests, but the growth in their scores from year to year.

Sarah McKenzie, executive director of the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, said the office is primarily concerned with growth because achievement is generally reflective of the demographics of the students in the school, whereas growth is not.

"We really like to focus on that growth number and schools that are demonstrating that their kids are growing academically more than you would expect by chance," McKenzie said.

The office published its list of the state's top 20 elementary schools in academic growth -- that is, growth in performance on the standardized tests. Three Springdale schools and one Rogers school made the list.

McKenzie points out the list shows various kinds of schools -- those with a high level of poverty and those with a relatively low level -- can excel when it comes to growth. The proportion of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals among the schools on the list ranges from 27% to 75%.

NW News on 10/20/2019