The good news is Oxford High School maintained their B grade for the 2003-2004 school year — this according to the Michigan Department of Education. The state released school report cards on Nov. 4.
The bad news, the Wildcats could have had an A.
‘We felt a B was a legitimate grade,? said Karen Eckert, District Curriculum Director of Oxford Schools. ‘Obviously we’ll work for something more. There are areas we can always improve in.?
Oxford’s overall student body and the school independently passed academic improvement goals.
‘The high school is fourth in the county in reading which is outstanding,? Eckert said
An area Eckert and high school principal Mike Schweig hopes to improve on is MEAP proficiency. A goal not met by the high school. MEAP aptitude accounts for two-thirds of the report card grade.
While 98 percent of the 274 juniors took the MEAP test, results show a subgroup of students did not prove proficienct, which reduced the overall report card grade from an A to a B.
In a report to the school board, Eckert said trends are more important than a single year’s score. Looking back at the previous three years, Eckert said scores indicate students are doing well across the district.
‘We are moving in the right direction,? she said
Federal regulations mandate if a school has more than 30 students who fall into academic subgroup categories, those students must obtain 95 percent aptitude on the MEAPs. Oxford High School’s subgroup students did not meet that proficiency percentage.
Federally identified student subgroups special economically disadvantaged students, racial or ethnic minorities, or those who use English as a second language.
In addition, because of that lower MEAP proficiency, the high school did not receive ‘Adequate Yearly Participation? (AYP) recognition status. The AYP goal uses MEAP proficiency to measure academic improvement within the school.
A second grading measurement is ‘facility indicators? such as school performance, parent involvement, attendance, and graduation rates. These indicators count for the remaining one-third percent of the report card grade.
The school passed the facility indicators with flying colors, ‘We did really well overall with that,? she said.
Although Schweig was happy with the B grade given to the high school, the principal is anxious to address, and improve the curriculum needs of students in the subgroup.
‘I was excited to hear the preliminary was an A,? said Schweig. ‘As with anything, we’re always looking for improvement and we’ll go from there.?
‘We should do everything we can to look at any areas we can improve, and we are anxious to get started.?