School division accreditation ratings recently released by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) show that all Henry County and Martinsville schools will be designated as Accredited.
For Accreditation, a school must achieve an adjusted pass rate of 75 percent in English (includes reading and writing) and 70 percent in mathematics, science, and history/social science.
“Student success can be measured in multiple ways. The VA Standards of Learning Assessments are one way to measure success. I am so happy for the students, teachers, staff, and administrators at all of our schools. It took the hard work of everyone to accomplish this goal,” said Lisa Millner, HCPS Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning.
Student growth is based on the previous years tested subject score and the corresponding year’s score. A student that does not pass their SOL but show significant improvement from year 1 to year 2 is considered a pass for the school due to growth. This growth model is only used in Elementary and Middle School in the contents of Math and English (Reading). The EL growth is based on the students WIDA: Access 2.0 growth and if a student shows significant growth on their scale then that student is considered a pass for the school and counted as a passing score in the content area of English (Reading).
“Our students work diligently each day to exceed the learning goals set before them. This demonstration of their growth and success is one of the many ways they are showing that they are ready for a successful future,” said Superintendent Sandy Strayer, adding, “We are grateful to the members of the school community who have supported each Henry County student in reaching his/her individual goals.”
Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane recently announced that 92 percent of Virginia’s public schools are meeting the state Board of Education’s expectations for achievement and improving student outcomes, and are accredited for the 2019-2020 school year.
All four schools in Martinsville are Accredited with no conditions, with gains in mathematics across the division, a release from the city school division stated.
“We saw a slight drop in reading scores across the division, which reflects the drop seen in the state reading scores. We are extremely proud of Patrick Henry Elementary, which was Accredited with Conditions last year and is now Accredited with all School Quality indicators at Level 1. Patrick Henry saw a seven-point gain in reading to go from 77% to 84%. They had a nineteen-point gain in mathematics to go from 72% to 91%. Patrick Henry also had a four-point increase in science pass rates to move from 71% passing to 75%, and all of their performance rates exceeded the state benchmarks,” the release stated.
Albert Harris Elementary continued its three-year trend of being Accredited. While they saw a drop in reading from 79% to 72%, they saw an increase in both mathematics from 78% to 81% and science from 68% to 79%. Martinsville Middle School maintained Accredited status for the second year and was recognized by the Virginia Department of Education as an Exemplar Performance School for Continuous Improvement. They maintained steady performance in reading at 77% and increased their math performance from 84% to 88%. Although they saw a slight drop in science from 76% to 73%, they still exceeded the state benchmark of 70%, according to the release.
Martinsville High School continued its three-year trend of Accredited status. “While they saw a drop in science from 75% to 67% and the Graduation Index from 90 to 87, they maintained a steady performance in reading at 87% and a slight increase in math from 84% to 87%. Martinsville High School was recognized by the Virginia Department of Education as an Exemplar Performance School for Continuous Improvement,” the release stated.
”We are so proud of our students and staff, and it is through their hard work that we are able to continue seeing success in our schools. It is through our culture of teamwork, respect, and high expectations that we are able to accomplish all that we have,” Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Angilee Downing said in the release.
Martinsville Superintendent Dr. Zeb Talley expressed great excitement with the testing outcomes.
“While I realize that standardized tests are only partially an indicator of student success, I am pleased at the exceptional progress that our school division has made during the past three years. This success is largely due to the team work performed by students, parents, teachers, administrators, central office staff, community leaders, and community supporters. In addition, our support staff has played an important role in making these three years very successful. Finally, our goal is to develop students who exhibit great citizenship and who contribute to our wonderful community and society. We have a school division that our entire community and business world can be very proud of,” Talley said in the release.
