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Local schools shine in state performance report

Subhead
Ellsworth doubles percentage rating over last year
Lead Summary
By
Mavis Fodness

Four public schools within the Star Herald coverage area were recognized recently in the Minnesota Department of Education’s annual school performance report Sept. 1.
One of those schools doubled its rating percentage over the past year.
Luverne Middle School and the elementary schools of Hills-Beaver Creek, Adrian and Ellsworth were listed in the Multiple Measurement Ratings (MMR) top achievement categories.
Only a fraction of the state’s 2,017 elementary, middle or high schools made the list. Schools not on the list are considered achieving the state standards. (See local results graphic.)
Each school in Minnesota is measured in four key areas: test proficiency, student learning growth, graduation rates and the closing of achievement gaps.
These gaps are between white students and students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English learners.
The measurements are primarily based on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) completed by students in grades 3-11 in the spring of each year.
Luverne, Hills-Beaver Creek and Adrian were recognized as celebration-eligible schools and can apply to be recognized as a celebration school. Celebration Schools are ranked in the 25 percent of schools, directly below the top 15 percent called Reward Schools.
Ellsworth Elementary was named a Reward School.
“I am as proud as a peacock,” said second-year Principal John Willey. “Now to maintain it may be a challenge.”
In one year, Ellsworth Elementary rose from one of the state’s lowest performing schools to one of the state’s highest.
In 2014 Ellsworth Elementary received a MMR score of 42.26 percent, placing the school on the state’s Continuous Improvement list, which notes the bottom 25 percent of schools not already identified as a Priority or Focus School, the state’s lowest-ranking categories.
This year the school scored 94.94 percent, almost doubling its rating.
The improvement was the result of several changes the district made, Willey said.
Identifying individual student learning deficiencies, staff working together as a team and seeking additional training resources were among the changes the staff focused on this past year, he said.
Each year, school districts receive a target index as a challenge to raise student proficiencies in the subjects of reading, mathematics and science.
None of the districts know what this target percentage is but not meeting the state’s set target index means no score for one of the four key MMR areas, dropping the school’s percentage.
Luverne Elementary’s rating dropped from 60.21 in 2014 to 34.81 this year, the lowest among local schools. This is because it just missed the state’s target, which keeps rising from year to year.
The school missed the state’s target index for math by less than a percentage point.
Luverne’s target was 78.8 percent student proficiency. The school scored a 78.09 proficiency based on the current MCA math scores for grades 3-5.
Districts do not know how the state computes the individual target index; however, Gillette said a trend has emerged in the past several years of testing.
“The better you did in the past, the higher the target,” she said. “While I wish we would have made the target, we continue to see growth in reading and math.”
The MMR was designed to meet the federal government’s No Child Left Behind legislation. The legislation requires states that receive federal Title I dollars to establish academic standards and an accountability plan to ensure all children are receiving a quality education.

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