The Jefferson City School District continues to soldier onward as a high "C" student, according to the state of Missouri's latest accountability measures for education.
The district earned 109 out of 140 total points possible - 77.9 percent - on the Missouri School Improvement Program's 2014 annual performance report. Last year, the district earned 108 points for a score of 77.1.
The report, released last week, indicates the district maintained its status, said Dawn Berhorst, assistant to the superintendent for planning and assessment.
"There was a slight increase, but not enough to signify improvement," she said. "We feel good about the fact that we've maintained, and not lost ground."
The program is called "MSIP 5" because it's the fifth cycle of the state's system for accrediting public schools, something Missouri has been doing since the 1990s.
In a ranking of the academic success of 50 U.S. states, the program is designed to push Missouri into one of the Top 10 slots by the year 2020.
Each year, officials with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) calculate a numerical score for five areas: academic achievement, subgroup achievement, college and career readiness, attendance and graduation rates.
This year, the district saw a decline in academic achievement when scores in that category - the largest - fell from 73.2 to 67.9.
When students take the MAP exams, their performances are categorized in four ways: "Advanced," "Proficient," "Basic" and "Below Basic."
In English/language arts, students have been on a steady, downward trend. In 2011, 58.6 percent of students were considered proficient or advanced in this subject area. By 2014, that number had dropped to 51.4 percent.
In math, students have seen their scores decline. In 2011, 59.2 percent of students were proficient or advanced. By 2014, that percentage had dropped to 51.4.
The program measures success by holding school communities accountable for continuous improvement year to year and categorizing them in four ways: "floor," "approaching," "on track" and meets the "2020 target."
Where once the district was "on track" to meet the state's Top 10 by 2020 target for English/language arts and math, it now is "approaching" those targets.
Although the district saw some slight improvements in science last year, students' scores are on a downward trend in that category, too. In 2011, 57.6 percent of students were proficient or advanced; by 2014, that number had dropped to 53.2 percent.
Overall, however, Jefferson City remains on track toward meeting the state's Top 10 by 2020 goal in science.
In social studies, academic achievement remained flat between 2013 and 2014, and like the other subjects, had fallen since 2011.
Better attendance and good graduation rates are bright spots for Jefferson City.
"Our buildings across the board made attendance a focal area," Berhorst said. "If students are not in school, they are not learning."
Why are students performing at lower levels?
Superintendent Brian Mitchell said the school district's academic achievement may have fallen because the MAP tests given last spring are now older exams not aligned with the newer Common Core Standards teachers already have implemented in recent years. The state is planning to give a new test - called the Smarter Balanced Assessment - this spring.
"That is definitely a reason why some would suggest MAP scores declined statewide," he wrote in a news release.
He noted that "all education experts" were anticipating an immediate decline in test scores due to increased rigor stemming from the newer Common Core Standards.
The phenomenon of much lower scores afflicted districts across Missouri this year.
"So much so that many districts called DESE to petition the state to begin an investigation into data quality," Berhorst explained.
What the investigators discovered is that because of shortfalls in funding, the exact same MAP test was given to students four years in a row. When a similar test - but with different questions - was given last year, the material wasn't as familiar and caused scores to decline, explained Sarah Potter, spokesperson for DESE.
Subgroup performance
The new program also takes a closer look at subgroups of students - English language learners, minorities, children with disabilities and those who qualify for reduced-price lunches - who historically have struggled to be successful at school.
Under MSIP 5, they have been gathered together into a "super-subgroup" so examiners can see if the achievement gap for these students in narrowing.
In Jefferson City, these students have lost ground in English and math. While they are showing improvements in science, still fewer than 41 percent are considered proficient or advanced in the subject. And, in social studies, only one-third are considered proficient or advanced.
In the state's 2014 report, Jefferson City is "on track" to meet the state's goal for these students in the area of science. It is "approaching" the state's goal in English/language arts and math. And the district is on the "floor" in social studies.
Elementary level performance
The MSIP also offers performance scores - which are based on academic achievement and attendance - at the building level.
All of the elementary schools - except for one - saw their building scores decline.
The largest decline occurred at Moreau Heights Elementary School, which earned 86.4 of the available points in 2013 and 66.4 percent of the available points in 2014.
East Elementary School is the one outlier.
A year ago, East Elementary School's score was 52.9 - the lowest in the district. That school saw a big turnaround in this year's report when scores rose to 80 percent.
The highest-rated elementaries in the district for 2014 were West Elementary School and Cedar Hill Elementary, with scores of 94.3 percent and 90 percent, respectively.
Last year, South Elementary School performed well and earned a score of 94.3; this year that school's score is 87.1.
Junior and senior high school performances
At the junior high level, scores at Thomas Jefferson Middle School's score rose from 59.3 percent to 73.6 percent. Lewis and Clark Middle School's scores declined from 63.6 to 60.7.
At Jefferson City High School, scores upticked slightly from 79.6 to 80.4.
Regarding academic achievement at the senior high since 2012, the district has seen significant improvement in math and science - where the school is exceeding the state's Top 10 by 2020 expectations for progress.
But the school also has experienced declines in social studies and English/language arts.
For those students in the "subgroup," who struggle at school for one reason or another, progress has been made in math and science, but not in English/language arts or social studies.
For example, between 2012 and 2014, the percentage of subgroup students who were proficient or advanced in math rose from 36.2 to 53.5 percent. Science pupils saw similar gains.
In large part, the improvement in scores at the high school was due to the fact the district did a better job of determining how many students - after they graduate - were enrolled in college or some kind of training school, were in the military or who were working in an occupation directly related to their training.
Mitchell also attributed the higher score, in part, to the district's high graduation rates. The state allows districts to calculate their four-, five- and six-year graduation rates and use the best to determine if they have met the graduation rate target or have shown sufficient progress.
Jefferson City's best effort was its six-year graduation rate, in which 88.7 percent of students were determined to have graduated with a regular diploma.
"Were it not for the work taking place at the high school over the past six years in regards to addressing our graduation rate, our annual performance report would be significantly lower," he wrote.
"Were very proud of keeping kids in school," Berhorst said.
A bright spot for the district this time was "College and Career Readiness."
At the senior high, the school saw improvements in the number of students at or above the state average on tests like the ACT and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. And Jay graduates performed better in their Advanced Placement courses.
The high school continues to struggle with attendance, though.
To get all the available points, 90 percent of the students have to attend school 90 percent of the time. At Jefferson City High School, only 75.7 percent of students do so.
Mitchell, in his memo, said: "For JCPS to maintain or improve ... we must increase our graduation rate, increase attendance for children at all levels, improve performance of our highest performing students and catch up our students performing at lower levels more quickly.
"Without doing something different, those areas will not change - as evidenced by the previous 20 years of performance."
MSIP 5 scores
Here's a comparison of MSIP 5 scores for Jefferson City Public Schools. The scores reflect the percent of points earned out of points possible.
School: 2013 / 2014 / Difference
South Elementary: 94.3% / 87.1% / -7.2
Callaway Hills Elementary: 61.4% / 57.9% / -3.5
East Elementary: 52.9% / 80% / +27.1
Moreau Heights Elementary: 86.4% / 66.4% / -20
Thorpe Gordon: 77.9% / 62.9% / -15
North Elementary: 82.9% / 77.1% / -5.8
Belair Elementary: 84.3% / 78.6% / -5.7
West Elementary: 97.1% / 94.3% / -2.8
Cedar Hill Elementary: 92.9% / 90% / -2.9
Pioneer Trail Elementary: 92.9% / 82% / -10
Clarence Lawson Elementary 91.4% / 84.3% / -1
Lewis and Clark Middle School: 63.6% / 60.7% / -2.9
Thomas Jefferson Middle School: 59.3% / 73.6% / +14.3
Jefferson City High School: 79.6% / 80.4% / +0.8