The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education reviewed the Iowa Department of Education data in this year’s performance rating, with the Carroll High School being given a targeted designation. Board members and administrative staff provided input on the data related to assumptions that could be made, things that could be argued, and what is agreeable about the results. Top arguments included that measuring students’ growth compared to students with similar scores is not the best practice and that data doesn’t define students’ unseen successes. Board members agreed that science is lacking and that staff should emphasize growth, not just proficiency. The central assumption discussed was chronic absenteeism and how language and cultural barriers were potentially a root cause of missing school as English Learners (EL) and low socio-economic status students were reported to miss most days. Board member Duane Horsley says that while the new law saw promise, it hasn’t turned out how legislation was planned.
It has been reported that county attorneys have been swamped trying to keep up with sending out “warning” letters to parents for students who have missed school. Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau says chronic absenteeism has been brought up in close to every Heartland AEA superintendent meeting and at district admin meeting.
Board member Jill Johnston commented that growth needs to be a focus, as students should be growing academically every year. She also mentioned that things out of the staff and district’s control can influence testing scores.
Berlau explains the targeted status with the high school is due to the growth median measured by students on IEPs on the state-wide assessments. With Carroll High School not receiving title funding, the district is not required to report to the Department of Education and submit a plan to address the challenge. Berlau says CCSD will be completing the steps anyway to gain resources and tools to help improve student growth achievements. Within the next few weeks, a committee of admins and teachers will be put together to review the data and create and enforce a plan to obtain a higher performance rating in the next year’s report card.
