Beaufort County Schools recently released the 2012 test scores | Eastern North Carolina Now

    John Denver fans will remember one of his hit songs that said: "some days are diamonds, some days are stones. Sometimes the hard times just won't leave us along." That tune comes to mind when one looks John at the recently released test scores for Beaufort County Schools. Some schools are diamonds, some schools are stones and if you are inclined to believe, as do we, that we are in the midst of educational hard times, then these results show that those hard times just won't leave us alone.

    You can review the composite scores for 2010 through 2012 by clicking here.

    First, know what you're looking at. The numbers are the "composite scores." Simply stated this is the overall average of all the test scores for all of the grades in each school. To really measure how well these schools are doing one has to drill down deeper into the numbers, but this gives you a 'zoomed out' bird's eye view.

    The numbers were furnished us by Beaufort County Schools. As is always the case, Washington Montessori Charter School again did not report its scores to us. But we looked it up and there composite 2012 score was 88.

    We asked BCS to provide us with a three-year trend in composite scores and they very promptly did so. That is what you're looking at in the table.

    We would suggest that you should look primarily at two things. First, how well did your school do compared to the other schools in Beaufort County. Secondly, look at the three-year trend.

    Here's what you will find:

    • Chocowinity Primary is the highest performing school in the county. It had the highest score all three years, except for the Early College High School. (We don't include the ECHS in our analysis because it is a special school that gets to select its students.) CPS not only scores high, but it does so consistently even though it ranks well down the list of the "Honor Schools of Excellence" (the top group of schools in the state), ranking 273 out of 278. But if all BCS schools did as well as CPS the system would be a much better school system.

    • The lowest performing school in the system is the Ed. Tech Center with a composite of 33. But that is significantly better than the three-year average of 24 and considerably better than the 18 in 2010. The Ed. Tech Center is an alternative school and thus should not be compared point by point to regular schools. The lowest performing "regular school" is John Small. And it has been the lowest performing for all three years.

    • When one looks at the amount of change in schools' scores it is obvious that Southside High School has made the most improvement, coming in at 89 in 2012 compared to a three-year average of 82. That is significant. Snowden has also improved significantly. Even though it still ranks low (64) it is considerably above the 53 it scores in 2010. Key personnel changes have been made at SWS and it will bear watching what happens over the next couple of years. Let's hope SWS has bottomed out and is now on a steady incline.

    • Washington High School also showed significant improvement in 2012, with a composite of 83 compared to 72 the year before and 7 points above its moving average.

    • John Cotton Tayloe also made significant improvement with a composite of 77, six point above its three-year average. Eastern's composite is actually Tayloe's because Eastern does not a tested grades.

    • The "stones" were: Bath at 83, the same as its three-year average, Chocowinity Middle, Northeast, Northside, and P.S. Jones with no significant change over the three-year period.

    • A notable question is raised about John Small and Chocowinity Middle. Both of these schools scored consistently below their feeder schools. We marked Small red in the table because of this. Something is wrong here. Superintendent Phipps acknowledged the situation and you can read his comments below. Likewise Chocowinity has scored significantly below Chocowinity Primary every year even though its scores remain constant. But the gap of 19 point over three years is a major 'red flag.'

    We asked Dr. Phipps for his comments and here is what he said:

    I appreciate the opportunity to share with The Observer and others my reaction to our test scores.

    I am excited about many things that I see in our data. However, at the same time, I am convinced that we have a lot more work to do.

    As I look at our test results I am thrilled about the growth status of our system. While I want us to strive for high growth at the student level, teacher level, grade level, school level, and system level; reaching expected growth is a great place to start. I believe with continued focus on student growth, with an eye on proficiency, the "data" piece that leads to others' perception of achievement will be unmistakable.

    The progress that our high schools have made is an area of excitement. As we compare our academic progress to the state's average scores, we see a positive trend. However, I want to state clearly that average is not our ultimate goal. We do understand that getting to average was a goal; now continuing to grow is a necessity. Our progress has been positive, but we must build on that to reach a level of success. The ACT scores, graduation rates, MSL performance, and other indicators will continue to be monitored in our effort to improve.

    I am also excited that our 3rd grade reading scores are above the state average. This is a first year occurrence and our hope is that it will translate into improved 4th grade scores next year, while we continue to see higher 3rd grade performance. This is a critical area of emphasis because of our focus on early literacy. I believe many factors contribute to test scores, but in this case, I believe that our 3rd grade reading outcomes point to the positive impact of our efforts in earlier grade levels.

    The work I see being done at SWS also excites me. While I cannot say we have across the board success, we have areas of marked improvement; while we also continue to have areas of need.

    The Observer's questions about JCT/JS and CPS/CMS are excellent, and they beg for answers. This is an area of concern for me and one that demands the attention of the school staffs and other support personnel. I will work with each school's data team to look for reasons (not excuses!) why the numbers drop from school to school. I met with school leaders this week and stated that we must adopt a "NO EXCUSES" mind set as we tackle these issues. We must also focus on what is going on inside our classrooms as we search for answers. I know that outside influences contribute to student outcomes, but I believe that teacher-related influences are much more powerful. Those are factors within our control, and we must properly monitor them to ensure the teacher effectiveness influence (positive) outweighs any other.

    At JCT, I believe the work that JCT has done this year in the area of literacy has helped thrust the 3rd grade reading scores; this lead to a sharp contrast with the 4th grade score at JS. As stated earlier, the 3rd grade success should translate into 4th grade success, but we must also see 3rd grade scores that continue to grow. Instructionally-focused efforts at JCT translated into classroom instructional practices which worked for those students. These effective instructional practices will persistently lead to student growth and those students will enter JS more prepared to move forward. Our efforts at JCT, JS, and PSJ must lead to levels of expected growth. As stated earlier, my efforts will be to work with these schools to clearly identify needs and focus on our efforts to make improvements, beginning within the classroom.

    My sense is that our schools are focused on academics and skill building for all students. I believe efforts are being made by teachers, support staff, and administrators to understand students as unique individuals with unique needs. Attempts to feed all students from the same spoon simply will not work. Likewise, reliance on a vendor-specific "programs" or off the shelf products will not lead to sustained success. We must expect quality, effective instruction in every classroom every day. This responsibility falls on the teachers, support staff, administrators, and central services team members.

    Our teachers regularly engage in meaningful dialogue with their peers in meetings that focus on student needs. I see teachers communicating, planning, and working collaboratively across subject areas, across grade levels, and between schools. I can't stress enough how important I feel vertical planning within and between schools is for student success.

    While many indicators of success are in our favor, there are also areas that demand our attention. We must fully appreciate what the data tell us, whether it is good or bad. We cannot believe that we are truly making progress simply because we hit a targeted goal in a single year. While we celebrate that outcome, we will look for continual, positive growth over a period of time. Longitudinal success with be the true indicator of school and school system improvement.

   Click here to read the press release BCS put out explaining the scores.

    Commentary

    The pattern is Beaufort County continues. There really is not "A" Beaufort County Schools when it comes to student performance. There are three. Some schools have good (not excellent) performance in their average scores while others have far too many students who simply do not perform at a minimally acceptable level. Some schools are showing improvement, but even those, as Dr. Phipps says, have much work to do.

    The real problem we sense is that Beaufort, like nearly every other school system in the state, is afflicted with the "minimum competency" syndrome. None of these data (composite scores) show how well our best and brightest students are doing. In this accountability system the only thing that matters (is measured) is how many students score above the minimum (Level 2). When you see results that 20, 30% or more of our students don't even score the minimum score that should be an alarm bell for our leaders. And when even in the best scoring schools we have 10-20% of our students not measuring up to the bear minimum we should be concerned.

    Something different has got to be done. We have simply got to know how well our best and brightest students are doing and we need to focus on EVERY student making the amount of progress each year that their individual abilities say they should make. Nothing less will suffice.

    Some days are diamonds

    Some days are stones

    Sometimes the hard times just won't leave us alone

    Delma Blinson writes the "Teacher's Desk" column for our friend in the local publishing business: The Beaufort Observer. His concentration is in the area of his expertise - the education of our youth. He is a former teacher, principal, superintendent and university professor.