JDC schools receive “C” ranking

Published 12:13 pm Wednesday, November 19, 2014

According to Superindent John Daley, all Jefferson Davis County schools and the district are currently rated a “C”.  Each district and school in the state is rated at one of five levels by the Mississippi Department of Education’s Accountability ranking system.

“J E. Johnson Elementary would have been a ‘D’, but remained a ‘C’ due to a state-wide waiver that allowed schools to keep the higher of the two ratings from 2012-2013 and 2013-2014,” said Daley.

The waiver was given due to implementation of Common Core State Standards during the 2013-2014 school year, even though schools still tested on the Mississippi Framework Standards.

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The Mississippi Statewide Accountability System rates schools and school districts with the letter grades A, B, C, D, and F.

The 2013-14 school year is the first year the state assigned letter grades using a new accountability model that meets both state and federal reporting requirements. The scales below were used to assign the letter grades.

Key differences in the new accountability model:

The new model emphasizes student growth, particularly the lowest performing 25% of students.

The previous system calculated student growth using a prediction equation. Now, students meet growth if their scores improve from one proficiency level to the next, or move sufficiently within the lower proficiency levels.

The previous system included a “completion index” for the 12th grade score, which gave schools partial credit for GED completions and other types of non-traditional diplomas.

These students do not accumulate credit in the new system, per state statute. The federally approved 4-year graduation rate is now used.

The 2013-14 year is considered a transitional year for letter grades because it is the first academic year that schools were expected to fully implement Mississippi’s college- and career-ready standards. Because of this transition, the U.S. Department of Education granted Mississippi a one-year waiver from school letter grades for the 2013-14 school year.

The waiver allows a school to retain the letter grade it received in the 2012-13 school year if the 2013-14 grade is lower as a result of assessment results.

 

For more information visit http://reports.mde.k12.ms.us/report/report2014.aspx.