Vian Public Schools Superintendent Lawrence Barnes recently announced the district's 2007 state test results, which showed Vian with the highest Academic Performance Index (API) in the county.
The test results were part of the final Accountability Data Report, providing test statistics for the district's 2007 state testing, which Barnes said the school received from the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
"We are really proud of our students and teachers," Barnes said. "Vian's district and high school regular education students received the highest API of the county's districts and high schools, and Vian's elementary and middle schools scored second only to Muldrow and Sallisaw, respectively. We improved our API score by 215 points over the past two years."
He noted that some scores are not quite comparative since the configuration of elementary, middle or junior high schools in the county have different grade levels.
Barnes said that the API is a score assigned by the state which includes test scores as well as other performance data with a maximum score of 1,500. Vian's 2007 API for the district was 1,315, while Muldrow was the second highest scoring district with an API score of 1,302. The Vian district API of 1,315 also exceeded the state's average API of 1,252. Sallisaw, with an API of 1,298, and Muldrow, with an API of 1,302, also exceeded the state's average, Barnes noted.
Vian's API comparisons to the state's averages also exceeded expectations. The state reported the percentage of students passing reading and math tests in grades three through high school, according to the state average and to each Oklahoma school district. Of the 14 areas reported, Vian equaled or excelled the state's percentage of regular education students, passing the state's tests in all but one area.
"(We had)100 percent of the Vian Elementary fourth grade pass their reading test," Barnes said. "And there was an increase of 49 percent of Vian High School students passing their Algebra I test."
To what does Barnes attribute increased performance?
"I think the training and planning teachers have accomplished in curriculum alignment and analyzing test scores have really paid off," Barnes said. "This is a strategic approach to preparing students for test taking, and the test is the way that our state and federal governments judge our schools.
"Just like a football game, the score is very important - it's the closest thing public education has to a profit and loss margin. However, as educators we also want to remember that it is the individual child and his or her progress, which is important. The rest is just statistics. Often classes with unique characteristics in schools the size of the ones in Sequoyah County come through, and statistics can unexpectedly change. We can never rest on our laurels."
Barnes also reported that the No Child Left Behind District Report Card with expanded testing information will be sent home with each student during the second or third week of November.
"Parents who have questions about these test scores can call any of the district offices," he said.
