See overview story below
Why OHS grade is flawed
By MELISSA OVERCASH, Oologah High School Principal
I am sure many in our community have had an opportunity to view our most recent A-F Report Card for the High School. This report has historically given us many causes to celebrate, as well as a focus for improvement, however this year, the results were a surprise. A score of C+ is certainly not what we expected, and is not an accurate portrayal of our students’ success.
I reported a number of inaccuracies to the State Department of Education, but these problems were not corrected. Officials instead replied that it was the law and that they were trying to change it with the new ESSA laws next year.
This report card is meant to be a transparent document but, the way in which data is analyzed and collected is far from it. Therefore, I would like to shed some light on how our score was calculated by the state department.
The current Cohort Graduation Rate report is grossly inaccurate. For example, the report states we have 21 dropouts. If looking at accurate numbers, we had an actual dropout of 4 students.
Within that heading of “dropout,” there are three subcategories: dropout, home school, and finished out the year. The other 17 we are credited with include students who left public education for home school, foreign exchange students, or students who “finished out the year”. The term “finished out the year” means they met all of their graduation requirements, but not at the exact same time as their classmates. Several students graduated at the top of their class, and are on academic scholarship at area colleges or universities. Yet our state deems them “non-graduates” because they didn’t graduate with the year specified by their age.
Other students who “finished out the year” are students who came to our district credit deficient from their previous school. These students were able to be successful at OHS when they weren’t at other schools. For the purposes of the state report card these students were considered dropouts or non-graduates, and as you can see, this is certainly not the case.
In the spirit of the World Series, a pitcher analogy explains this problem well. If the starting pitcher loads the bases and is then removed from the game, yet all three runners score, the relief pitcher is not penalized with those runs. The runs were caused by the first pitcher. In the school business, OHS should not be penalized for students who were already behind, and yet, as you can see by the report card, we are.
Experts all over our state have written lengthy studies on the invalidity of the A-F grading system, how it is flawed, and how the system does not accurately display a school’s achievement. For example, the bottom 25% growth compares scores from 8th grade tests with that of Algebra I and English II scores in the HS. The scores that are compared are labeled “Performance Index” scores but these are not equivalent within each test. The way the points are calculated simply does not make sense and is not an accurate depiction of our students’ growth.
With all of that being said, Oologah High School has much to celebrate. Our Algebra I scores and overall growth went from an 86% to a 93%. We also earned bonus points for the number of students we have earning Advanced Coursework (or Concurrent enrollment) credit, as well as a bonus point for our College Entrance Exam scores. I can go on and on about the accolades our students receive academically! Our students and our school are so much more than just a test grade. In addition to preparing our students academically, we also prepare them to be respectful and productive citizens; qualities that can’t be tested.
Please feel free to contact me regarding any questions or concerns you may have.
* * * *
School grade cards flawed
By the Leader staff
2015 grade cards are out for the Oologah-Talala Schools, and the results are bringing smiles and frustration.
Oologah Lower and Upper Elementary had A- grades and Oologah Middle School earned a B+ from the State Department of Education.
However, Oologah High School earned a C+. That’s the same Oologah High School that earned “2015 High Performing School” honors from State Superintendent Joy Hoffmeister in April.
The grade cards are the last released using the current system, which virtually all educational leaders from a variety of viewpoints consider widely flawed.
O-T Superintendent Max Tanner said the high school was provided incorrect draft information for the report for verification. Corrections were provided to the SDE but the corrections were never made in the state’s report.
Oologah High School Principal Melissa Overcash expressed frustration with the process.
“What I wanted to ask after that was: ‘Then why is the SDE issuing report cards that they know are incorrect and invalid?’”
(See separate story by Overcash explaining the flaws.)
Tanner said, “I’m looking forward to the improvement in the new system because we’ve all known from the beginning that it was a flawed measurement, an invalid system and completely unreliable.
“Even though our school had good scores there’s always room for improvement and we are always looking for new ways to improve.
Other area schools had mixed resuls. Collinsville earned three B-marks, two B’s and One C+; Caney Valley scored D+ marks across the board; Nowata had a B+, a B, a B-, three C’s, a C- and a D; Foyil had an F and two C- grades; Sequoyah had an A, a B and a B-; and Claremore had an A, a B, two B-’s, a C+ and a C.
John Wylie, Carolyn Estes and Faith Wylie contributed to this story.
