GENTRY -- According to Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers results presented to the Gentry School Board on Feb. 15, the Gentry School District ranked first in literacy and third in math among other area school districts of similar size in northwest Arkansas.
The PARCC results shared with board members by Judy Winslett, assistant superintendent for the Gentry School District, showed that 48 percent of Gentry students who were tested met or exceeded expectations in literacy, and 32 percent of students tested as having met or exceeded expectations in math. This exceeded the state and northwest Arkansas region, which were at 34 and 39 percent, respectively, in literacy and 24 and 29 percent in math.
Gravette School District ranked first (among the same group of regional schools) in math, with 37 percent of students tested meeting or exceeding expectations, and second in literacy, with 40 percent of students tested meeting or exceeding expectations.
Decatur was at the bottom of the list for both, with scores of 15 percent in literacy and 14 percent in math.
The Gentry scores put them in 10th place statewide (out of 266 Arkansas schools) in literacy and 14th place in math. Gravette finished 10th in math and 18th in literacy.
Haas Hall Academy ranked Number 1 in both categories. The Bentonville School District was in third place statewide.
In another website created to assist parents in evaluating school districts, www.schooldigger.com, Gentry High School was ranked at 10th among all high schools in Arkansas. Gentry Middle School was 17th in comparison to all Arkansas Middle Schools. The Gentry Intermediate School was ranked 146th compared to all Arkansas elementary schools, and the Gentry Primary School was not ranked. The district was ranked 12th among 222 districts.
Gravette School district was ranked at 17th among the 222 school districts. Decatur was at 184th but had moved up 32 spots over the previous year.
"We should have brought out the band and cheerleaders and had a 'rah, rah, rah,'" said Randy Barrett, superintendent of the Gentry School District, explaining that the school district's starting early with the Common Core curriculum paid off.
Barrett also commended the teachers, staff and students in the Gentry School District for their hard work.
According to its website, PARCC "is a group of states working together to develop a modern assessment that replaces previous state standardized tests. It not only evaluates a student's progress but also provides better information for teachers and parents to identify where a student needs help, or is excelling, so they are able to enhance instruction to meet individual student needs.
"PARCC helps ensure that all students, regardless of income, family background or geography, have equal access to a world-class education that will prepare them for success after high school in college and/or careers. New state standards set consistent expectations in English and mathematics for every student, and PARCC provides a valid and reliable evaluation of each student's progress toward them."
According to the PARCC score report published on the Arkansas Department of Education website, "The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium of states developing assessments to measure student achievement in English language arts/literacy (ELA/L) and mathematics based on the learning standards expressed by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for grades 3--8 and high school. Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, and Rhode Island participated in the 2014--2015 PARCC administrations."
General News on 02/24/2016