The Oklahoma State Department of Education recently forwarded annual Accountability Data Reports to the superintendents of public schools in Oklahoma including those in Sequoyah County. The reports pertain to the overall academic performance within each elementary, middle or junior high, and high school site within each school district. This information reflects data furnished to the Oklahoma State Department of Education by the individual districts and contracted testing companies.
This data is used to calculate the API for each school district, an annual report card.
The purpose of the API is to measure success and to initiate growth in school and district performance in the state. The API is a numeric index or score, ranging from 0 to 1500, with 1289 as the 2009 state average. An overall API score, as well as sub scores for individual indicators, are assigned to each school and district in Oklahoma.
The API gives a performance score for all students tested, as well as for individual student groups. Sub scores of the API are also used to measure Adequate Yearly Progress as defined in federal No Child Left Behind regulations, for all schools and districts in Oklahoma.
It is important to remember that because of vast differences in size, location, demographics, etc., among Oklahoma schools, caution is urged in comparing the score of one school or district to that of another.
Oklahoma’s API was created in law to measure the performance and progress of a school or district based on several factors, primarily state assessment scores that contribute to overall educational success. The factors used in the calculation of an API score include:
• Oklahoma School Testing Program.
• School completion - including attendance, dropout, and graduation rates.
• Academic excellence - includes America College Testing scores and participation, Advanced Placement credit, and college remediation rates in reading and mathematics.
Several area school officials commented on their API scores.
Paul Pinkerton, Belfonte School superintendent, said, “There are several good things about Belfonte School but the one thing that really stands out is the faculty and staff’s determination and pride to make sure that the school is a success at anything we do here. Whether it is academics or extracurricular actives, the faculty and staff are willing to do the extra work to make sure their students do their very best.”
Max Tanner, Central Public Schools superintendent, said, “Central Public Schools is committed to setting and reaching high goals so that every student can succeed. Administrators received preliminary API scores back in August and knew that the test scores were good.”
“Reasons for the high API score at the high school level were because 97 percent of students passed the Algebra I end of instruction test and 82 percent of students passed the English II end of instruction test,” Tanner said.
“This data shows the hard work and dedication of our teachers and students. Test scores have been improving yearly and each site has continually made Adequate Yearly Progress,” Tanner said.
“I am really proud of the commitment of our teachers with state testing and the willingness to cooperate and share ideas with fellow teachers. Our teachers also make the learning relevant to our students, which in turn, lead to more effort from our students and better test scores,” Tanner said.
“I am so proud of our students at Central. They come to school with the attitude to learn, stay focused during class, and strive to better themselves on state tests,” Tanner said.
Keith Kincade, Gore Public Schools superintendent, said, “We are very proud of the improvements that have been made here at Gore Public Schools. Our API has been on a steady improvement for the last few years. We hope to continue to improve especially with all of the economic challenges our district and that our state is facing. I give all of the credit of our improvement to the faculty and staff at Gore Schools.”
“We have a very caring and thoughtful staff that makes going to school here a great experience for our students,” Kincade said.
Jeff Ransom, Liberty School superintendent, said, “The rise in our API scores is a result of our staff putting forth diligent effort in the classroom as well as endless hours outside of the classroom, working on lesson plans and curriculum needed to improve all areas of students’ performance, along with parental involvement and student effort.”
Roger Sharp, Muldrow Public Schools superintendent, said, “The API score that we receive is an indication of the joint efforts of the administration, faculty, and students at Muldrow School. Each year when we receive the data report that contains these scores, we work diligently to study the overall score, as well as the scores from each subgroup.”
“We then work continually throughout the year to build upon the strengths and find remedies for areas in which we may need to show some improvement. While the administration and faculty at Muldrow School are very proud of the API scores which we have received, we are also aware of the importance of constantly striving to show improvement so that we may better meet the needs of each of our students,” Sharp said.
“These API scores are used as a guide to help us develop teaching efforts that will provide complete educational opportunities for all of our students,” Sharp said.
Ron Wyrick, Sallisaw Schools superintendent, said, “Our scores have gone up some and I credit the faculty for the increase. Our academic process is stronger than ever with our new programs. We know where each student missed a concept and can re-teach that concept. Sallisaw Schools have a great team effort in place to increase our test scores and student learning.”
David Vinson, Vian High School principal, said, “We feel really good about our test scores. We realize that a lot of hard work and effort has gone into these scores from our staff, students, and their parents.
“You could see a significant change in scores from 2005 through 2009. Our biggest increase over that period was in Algebra I. We went from 29 percent to 94 percent making it our highest total ever,” Vinson said.
Dudley Hume, Webbers Falls Schools superintendent, said, “We are happy with our scores, but not satisfied. We are hoping for perfection and we know that this will be hard to achieve. Our goal is for our students to do well at whatever they try to accomplish in all facets of education.”
For more information on the API scores contact the Oklahoma Department of Education Website, at http://sde.state.ok.us/AcctAssess/API.html
