Columbia Public Schools sees little improvement in state Annual Performance Report
Columbia Public Schools inched forward in the state's Annual Performance Report, receiving 70.1% of all possible points, compared to 70% for the previous report.
The reports are based on data for the 2022-23 school year.
"Although it seems minimal, we had to increase our scores to maintain where we are," said CPS Superintendent Brian Yearwood.
Student attendance
Student attendance was an issue the district's administrators, teachers and staff focused on all school year, yet the district received zero points in that area for the second consecutive year.
The state's standard is for 90% of students to attend 90% of the time. To get any points, 80% of students would need to be in school 90% of the time.
At CPS, 78.2% of students were in school 90% of the time.
It's not just an issue in CPS, but a problem throughout the state, said Margie Vandeven, state education commissioner, in a call with reporters.
"Students must be present to learn," Vandeven said. "Attendance rates have not returned to the rates seen before the pandemic. More than one in four students are missing 10% of the school year."
It's not something school districts can solve on their own, she said.
Districts need to enlist the entire community, including faith leaders, she said.
"It really is an all hands-on-deck approach to solving this issue," Vandeven said.
In CPS, students who attend at least 90% of the time have proficiency rates double that of students who don't in communication arts and almost triple that of students who don't attend 90% of the time in math, said Dave Wilson, a data specialist for the district.
A lot of incentives are being offered for attendance, Yearwood said. At some schools, students track their attendance.
Home-school communicators also work with parents to help them get their children to school, he said.
Advisory groups, including the district's faith-based advisers, are also working on the issue.
At this point, the district is on track to achieve at least 80% attendance in next year's report, administrators said.
Academics
In academics, CPS improved in science and math.
The district received 50% of the points in math; 75% in science; 75% in social studies; and 50% in English.
The group of students including Blacks, Hispanics, English language learners, students in special education and students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals again lagged behind all students in academics.
Among those students, the district received 50% of points in English; 50% of points in math; 50% in social studies and 50% in science.
The district received 80% of points for growth in science for that subset of students.
The district has been working for years to close what is sometimes termed the "achievement gap."
It's a nationwide issue, not only a local one, Wilson said.
Graduation rate
"Our graduation rate was kind of a heartbreaker for us," Wilson said.
The district received 75% of available points for graduating 91% of students. Graduating two more students would have allowed the district to climb to 92% and add all the points, he said.
"Those two kids would have swung our score 3% higher," Wilson said.
The whole child
The district received 100% of points for advanced credit, but 50% of points for college and career assessments.
"Our AP is through the roof," Wilson said about Advanced Placement, where student can take advanced courses and get college credits when they pass the exams for the courses.
CPS also receives points for the high number of students taking ACT college preparation exams. The district pays for the exams for all juniors.
Another positive is the Early College partnership with Moberly Area Community College. It allows CPS students to graduate high school with an associate degree from MACC at no cost.
"We are very strong in what I call wraparound accomplishments," Yearwood said. "Columbia is great in working with the whole child."
Other Boone County districts
Here is how other Boone County School Districts fared:
The Hallsville district received 83.8% of all points, up from 83.4% last year.
The Southern Boone School District in Ashland received 76.9% of points, dropping from 83.3% last year.
The Centralia district received 75.7% of points, down a little from 75.9% last year.
The Harrisburg School District received 74.8% of points, up from 70.2%.
In Sturgeon, the percentage of points earned declined to 62.9% from 65.1%. Districts receiving between 50% and 69.9% of points are considered provisionally accredited, according to state education officials.
Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on X at @rmckinney9.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here's how Columbia Public Schools fared in annual state report card
