by Jackie Nunnery
WEEMS—Stressing that Standards of Learning (SOL) scores “are just one data point, and we look at so many other data points,” Lancaster school superintendent Jessica Davis on Monday, September 9, walked through the differences between the recently released pass rate scores, which she called “federal numbers,” and the soon-to-be-released state accreditation numbers at the latest school board meeting.
“The earlier release of the federal numbers, as an educator, always leaves a little bit of a bad taste in our mouths because it appears that our kids are not capable because of these numbers. Our kids are more than capable,” Davis said.
“Raw numbers” include first-time pass only while the state accreditation numbers will include retakes, she said. Students are allowed to retake the test under certain criteria such as illness, or if they score between 375 and 399. A passing score is a minimum of 400, advanced proficiency is 500, and a maximum score is 600.
As for the state accreditation numbers expected to be out by the end of the month, while they are a fuller picture of achievement since they include retake scores and a growth factor, “it’s not something we as educators are using to plan instruction. We use so many data points to look at a kid’s strengths and weaknesses besides a one-day, standardized test,” said Davis.
Strengths in the scores presented included a 29-point increase by all students subgroups in English for grades 8-12, LHS English pass rates that exceeded state pass rates in seven of the eight subgroups, and LHS science pass rates that increased in seven of the nine subgroups.
Chronic absenteeism (missing more than 10% of school days) continues to be….
