St. Louis Superintendent: This is how we raised APR

(The following message was sent by St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams to staff after APR scores were released today.)

SLPS Staff

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) today released the Annual Performance Reports (APR) for districts and individual schools through the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) cycle five. Based on the data released by DESE, SLPS received 60.5 APR points, an increase of 75% from last year. In addition, seven Saint Louis Public School District schools earned enough points to qualify for Accreditation with Distinction, the highest recognition available.

The District increased in APR points due to several factors. First, the District took a more proactive approach to monitoring and evaluating data throughout the school year. Focused Instructional Learning Walks were held at all schools in the District to review teaching and learning at the classroom level. Rigor and alignment to District teaching standards were consistently communicated and coached.

Attendance data was monitored weekly by District administrators and reviewed with principals. Schools developed attendance improvement strategies to address individual students who exhibited patterns of absenteeism.

The District focused on improved follow-up measures to address graduating seniors in the college and career readiness category. By utilizing social media and innovative methods, the District was able to more accurately track graduating seniors for the 2014 Annual Performance Report.

SLPS schools earning Accreditation with Distinction honors are Buder Elementary School, Gateway Elementary School, Kennard Classical Junior Academy, Metro High School, McKinley Middle/High School, Stix Early Childhood Center and Wilkinson Early Childhood Center. Schools had to earn at least 90% of the points possible to qualify for Accreditation with Distinction. Kennard and Wilkinson each earned a perfect score of 100%.

An additional 17 SLPS schools earned enough APR points to qualify for Full Accreditation. Those schools are: Bryan Hill Elementary School, Busch Middle School of Character, Carnahan High School of the Future, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, Cleveland NJROTC High School, Clyde C. Miller High School, Compton Drew Middle School, Cote Brilliante Elementary School, Dewey International Studies Elementary School, Gateway Michael Elementary School, Gateway STEM High School, Jefferson Elementary School, Mallinckrodt Academy of Gifted Instruction, Mason School of Academic & Cultural Literacy Elementary School, Shaw Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School, Shenandoah Elementary School and Woerner Elementary School. Schools were required to earn at least 70% of all possible points to qualify for Full Accreditation.

All public school districts and individual schools received an APR score based on Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests results, End Of Course (EOC) exams scores, attendance data, graduation rates and college and career readiness preparation.

The 2013-2014 school year is the second year DESE has calculated APR scores for districts and schools based on the MSIP cycle five standards. MSIP cycle five uses a 140 point scale to calculate a district’s APR, requiring a district to earn at least 70 points (50%) to qualify for Provisional Accreditation, at least 98 points (70%) to qualify for Full Accreditation and at least 126 points (90%) to qualify for Accreditation with Distinction. Under the MSIP cycle four scoring system, districts were evaluated based on a 14 point scale.

Individual school APR’s are calculated using the same percentages for Provisional Accreditation, Full Accreditation and Accreditation with Distinction. However, elementary and middle schools are evaluated on a 70 point scale based on MAP results and attendance, while high schools are evaluated on a 140 point scale based on EOC results, attendance, graduation rates and college and career readiness.