Schools

Barrington Schools Get Their Annual 'Report Cards' from RIDE

Three of Barrington's schools are considered 'leading', three are considered 'typical' by the RI Department of Education's measurements.

Barrington's schools received their annual “report cards” from the state education department (RIDE) last week.

Three schools – the high school and Nayatt and Sowams elementary schools -- were given “leading” grades under RIDE’s classifications system.

Three schools – the middle school and Hampden Meadows and Primrose Hill elementary schools – were given “typical” grades.

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But don’t use the grades to compare one district against another district or one school against another school, said Barrington Superintendent Michael Messore and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Paula Dillon.

Every school is graded based on its own particular students, which are divided up into a variety of sub-groups based on ethnicity and socioeconomic status for measurement purposes, primarily using the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) achievement scores.

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"The report cards are not great external information," Messore said. "They're really designed for internal use." 

“The data evaluates where we stand against goals set for 2017,” said Messore. “Schools should be making progress toward reaching those goals. It’s a continuous reminder of what we need to do and where we need to be at.” 

A particular school, for instance, could not be meeting the needs of one of its various sub-groups, and could end up being given a “warning” label, said Dillon, even though the school may doing quite well in every other area.

RIDE assigns point values to measures of performance for each sub-group, she said, and then ranks schools by total point value – or Composite Index Score – to determine the classifications.

“Leading” schools have a score of between 70 and 76; “typical” schools have a score of between 50 and 70.

The grades are part of the No Child Left Behind initiative at the federal level. In Rhode Island, an accountability system was set up to measure proficiency and participation in achievement tests, gap-closing, progress, growth, improvement and graduation goals. 

“It is very respondable data,” said Messore. “Principals in each school are already analyzing it to determine what they need to work on, and what students to target.”

Many schools in Rhode Island need to fix a lot of things, Messore said. Barrington does not. The schools are considered among the best in the state.

But that doesn’t mean school officials are happy with the status quo. They still want to see annual growth.

“The report card data also helps us look for ways to enrich and challenge certain students,” he said.


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