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Online system grades area schools

La Plata County middle of the road
Lisa Schuba, principal of Animas Valley Elementary School, reviews third-grader Nicholas Gilmore’s class assignments. Animas Valley Elementary received an A in performance from Colorado School Grades, an online consortium that analyzes academic variables and grades schools.

Colorado School Grades, a 4-year-old online consortium of 18 nonprofit community organizations, has released grades for the state’s public schools.

La Plata County schools are in the middle of the pack. One school received an F.

The Center for Education Policy at the University of Colorado/Denver’s School of Public Affairs developed the grading formula. It uses the same variables and weights as the Colorado Department of Education, which includes academic achievement, academic growth and academic growth gaps. For high schools, college and career readiness is considered.

In Durango School District 9-R, Durango High School received a C. Escalante and Miller middle schools also received a C. Among elementary schools, only Animas Valley shined. It received an A. Grades for the other elementary schools were Riverview, C+; Park, B+; Florida Mesa, C-; Fort Lewis Mesa, B; Sunnyside, C+; and Needham, B-.

Bayfield Elementary School got a C. Bayfield High School and Bayfield Middle School each got a B.

In Ignacio, the high school and middle school each got a D. Ignacio Elementary School got an F.

La Plata County school district representatives aren’t sure how Colorado School Grades arrived at its conclusions. They aren’t pleased.

Julie Popp, a spokeswoman for Durango School District 9-R, said the district relies on the Colorado Department of Education’s Performance Frameworks to assess schools. It is the same standard cited by Colorado School Grades.

“We are unclear on the additional indicators that Colorado School Grades uses and how they assess schools and apply grades,” Popp said.

“For instance, it is not clear how a school can achieve a C+ in academic proficiency and a C+ academic growth, yet receive a B- in overall performance, which is an example of the ratings applied to a school in our district.”

Popp was referring to Needham Elementary School.

Rocco Fuschetto, superintendent in Ignacio, brushed aside the Colorado School Grades’ conclusions.

“I’m not concerned with their rating,” Fuschetto said. “We answer to the Colorado Department of Education.”

Fuschetto said the district has weaknesses, but it is working to overcome them.

Troy Zabel, superintendent in Bayfield, said Colorado School Grades appears to look at a small amount of data.

“I don’t put a lot of stock in the ratings,” Zabel said. “I think they used limited data.”

Kristina Saccone, from Colorado Succeeds, one of the 18-member coalition, and spokeswoman for the Colorado School Grades, said the state department of education’s rating system is complex and too broad in a certain sense.

The CDE puts 70 percent of schools in the “performance“ category, meaning they are doing their job. The other categories are “improvement,” “priority improvement” and “turnaround.”

Being in the 70 percent group has little meaning, Saccone said. Colorado School Grades converts CDE data into letter grades to give parents clear knowledge of how a school is performing.

A formula developed by the Center for Education Policy Analysis at the University of Colorado/Denver School of Public Affairs uses the same weights and variables as the Performance Framework and grades on a curve, Saccone said.

According to the curve used by Colorado School Grades, the top 10 percent of schools received an A. The next 25 percent, a B, followed by 50 percent with a C, 10 percent with a D and 5 percent with an F.

The goal of Colorado School Grades is to give parents, school officials and community members an understanding of how schools are performing.

daler@durangoherald.com



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