Despite a drop in performance, McIntire Elementary School Principal Beth Houf said there were a number of bright spots to be gleaned from the school's annual performance data.
McIntire saw drops in all three testing areas last year, going from 51 percent scoring proficient or advanced in 2013 to 47.9 percent in 2014 in English/language arts. Math scores went from 52 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in 2013 to 49.5 percent in 2014. There was also a dip in science - which is tested only in the fifth grade - with 41.5 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in 2014 compared to 56.3 percent in 2013.
Overall, however, Houf said what stood out to staff as they began analyzing data, were several areas that showed positive signs.
"Our subgroup data actually went up a little and we saw longitudinal growth - our fifth-grade students scored better than they did in fourth grade and in third grade; our fourth-grade students scored better than they did in third grade," Houf said. "Another positive was our attendance growth."
She noted the McIntire went from 88 percent of students attending 90 percent of the time for 2012-13 to hitting the state target of 90 percent of students attending 90 percent of the time for 2013-14. Houf said school administrators spend "a very big portion" of their time on attendance, making sure to follow up when students are not there.
"When kids aren't here, they're not learning, not being exposed to the same material," Houf said, noting that even at 90 percent attendance, students are still missing 17 days. "One of our goals for this year is working on tardies and early pickups."
Tying into the idea of increasing attendance, Houf said another thing the school has implemented a positive behavior recognition program. When a student gets a referral for positive behavior, Houf and Assistant to the Principal Billy Cannon contact the parents, the student gets an All-Star Hornet sticker and a certificate with their name on the wall.
"We're trying to have the kids be proud of making good choices. The kids get so excited about it," Houf said.
The program has also paid off in a decrease of behavioral referrals as well - down 75 percent from last year.
"For us, that's been huge," Houf said.
She said McIntire has four "big areas" staff have made a focus for this school year: Student engagement, critical thinking, motivation and use of assessment.
"On our professional development days we try to tie back into those areas," Houf said. "We're trying to make everything connect."
Houf said her teachers are committed to trying to help all of their students reach proficiency - although she noted not all of those efforts are based on MAP performance.
"For us, MAP data is a test we take for two weeks. We have data we take daily, and we try to use that data to help us set our goals," she said.
Those goals include having 100 percent of students proficient in reading, writing and math; again having 90 percent of students have 90 percent attendance and developing a positive atmosphere in the building with strong relationships with students and families through programs like the All-Star Hornets.
"We want our students to want to be here every day, because if they want to be here, they're ready to learn," Houf said. "We believe in our kids. I'm lucky to have a staff that is willing to do anything to get our kids where they need to be."
Katherine Cummins can be reached at (573) 826-2418 or [email protected].