“I am pleased with the progress the students have made over the last year. Their progress highlights the hard work and dedication our teachers have toward improving proficiency in reading and math.” -Stacy Stull, South Tama Elementary Principal

South Tama Schools Superintendent Mary Jones echoed Elementary Principal Stacy Stull in recognizing the progress made in student achievement at the South Tama elementary School in Tama as gauged in the 2016 Iowa Department of education Report Card released last week.

“We are so excited about the Elementary- It is a reward for their hard work by moving up a level on the report card, Jones told The News-Herald.

South Tama schools and state education officials had held for some time the federal “No Child Left Behind” evaluations of schools were inherently unfair due to not recognizing some of the unique aspects of school make up.

In 2015, it was reported a flurry of criticism was made by Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise of 2014-15 State Report Card on Student Achievement – federal No Child Left Behind Law.

At that time, The News-Herald reported, “His (Wise) predecessor, Brad Buck, had similar comments in reaction to the 2013-14 report which he also termed “flawed.

“Last year, then-South Tama Superintendent Kerrie Nelson pointed to “”challenging demographics”” in the local schools for a primary reason the 2013-14 designation of South Tama as a district in need of assistance.”

South Tama Elementary

Iowa School Report Card 2016

Overall Rating: 64.8 Acceptable

Here is a summation and analysis of the Report Card for the South Tama Elementary School provided by Superintendent Jones and staff:

South Tama Elementary School is pleased to report that we have improved our rating on the Iowa School Report Card from Needs Improvement to Acceptable. Our overall score increased from a 60.1 to a 64.8. Several factors weigh into a school’s score and over the last year, STC elementary has continued to make reading and math a priority. We have also made great improvements in our ELL program, by adding an additional teacher, by updating our curriculum materials, and by training our staff in SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol).

One of our biggest gains on the Iowa School Report Card for 2016 was our proficiency score. The proficiency score is a combined score from Iowa Assessment tests taken in reading and math. We scored a 76.1, which is an increase from our 2015 score of 69.6. In math, we increased by 8.8 and in reading we increased by 4.6. When looking at all of our reportable subgroups, it can be noted that we showed an increase with all subgroups except males in reading.

Another notable achievement on our Iowa School Report Card is the score we achieved on “Closing the Achievement Gap.” This score helps a school determine if progress is being made in closing the gap between minority students and white students and if progress is being made in closing the gap for students facing financial hardship (measured by Free/Reduced lunch), students with IEP’s and students whose first language isn’t English (ELL students). In 2015, there was an achievement gap of 19.4 between minority groups and white students. In 2016, we narrowed that gap to 11.2. When compared to the rest of the state of Iowa, in 2015 the achievement gap was 21.8 and in 2016 we narrowed the gap to 10.1. For students facing financial hardship, students with IEP’s and ELL students, the gap in 2015 was 23 and in 2016 we narrowed the gap to 19.5

One area of improvement for STC Elementary is shown in our scores for “College and Career Ready Growth,” which measures the percent of students who are growing each year toward being ready for college and career. The combined reading and math score of 51 is down from 54.1 in 2015. When looking at the individual tests separately, the math score actually went up 4.4 in 2016 while the reading score fell 8.9. When looking at our subgroups, males, Free and Reduced and minorities students all fell in reading scores. As noted earlier, improving reading for all students continues to be a focus for our teachers. The same can be said of our score on “Annual Expected Growth,” which measures which percent of students are achieving a year of academic growth in a year’s time. Our score fell to a 52.3 from a 56.1 in 2015. Again, math saw improvement, while reading fell.

Although our scores fell slightly in “Attendance” and “Staff Retention,” we feel that these two areas are still areas of strength for STC elementary. Our PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) team as well as our School Leadership team work tirelessly to support a positive school climate and culture. Our Attendance team works with both students and parents to provide support and incentives to strengthen our attendance numbers.