Education Oversight Board Press Release (2009/06/04)

EDUCATION OVERSIGHT BOARD SEES PROGRESS TOWARD ITS NEW PERFORMANCE BENCHMARK & COMMENDS HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOLS. OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY RELEASES LATEST SCHOOL REPORT CARDS, DISTRICT REPORTS, AND STATE REPORT. SCHOOL PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROGRAM CONTINUES STRONG -- SIX ADDITIONAL REVIEWS COMPLETED.
Contact: Robert Buswell or Jeff Wallace
(405) 225-9470
June 4, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Education Oversight Board (EOB) announces that it has seen an increasing number of schools achieve their new 25% Advanced Performance Benchmark, which was established last year. The latest results are reported in the newest version of the popular School Report Cards released by the Office of Accountability. “The new benchmark that we established last year was a rigorous one that identifies the top schools across the state,” said Susan Field, Chairman of the Education Oversight Board (See attached list of schools). “The new benchmark identifies schools where 70% of the students score Satisfactory or above and where 25% of the students score Advanced on every subject tested at a given grade level,” explained Field. “The board commends the ninety-six (96) schools that met the EOB’s new Advanced Performance Benchmark. These schools demonstrated very high performance and will receive one or more stars on their School Report Card,” remarked Field. The benchmark applies to the results of the 2008 Oklahoma School Testing Program (OSTP) for Regular Education students, grades 3rd through 8th, that attended the same school for the full academic year.

“This is the second year for the new benchmark,” said John Ford, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. “A number of years ago when the Board established the original 70% Performance Benchmark, there were only a few schools that met the challenge and received a checkmark; but now, most schools get the checkmark.” explained Ford. “Students, teachers, and administrators have all worked very hard to improve student performance on Oklahoma’s standardized tests but realignment of test rigor, reclassification of students, and adjusting of cut-scores has also worked to move student scores higher,” commented Ford. “We reached the point where even the state average warranted a check mark at every grade level so the new 25% Advanced Performance Benchmark re-established the Education Oversight Board’s desire to recognize the state’s top performing schools.”

The Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program issues the Profiles series of reports that include three components; the State Report, the District Report, and the School Report Cards. New additions to this year’s reports are the Average Freshman Graduation Rate and End-of-Instruction test results for Algebra II, English III, and Geometry. The Profiles 2008 State Report contains tables, graphs, maps, and accompanying text covering state-level educational issues. The two-volume Profiles 2008 District Report looks at each of Oklahoma’s 539 public school districts and reports over 100 data elements for each. It presents demographic data, educational process statistics, and figures on student performance. The 2008 School Report Cards present similar information for 1,713 of Oklahoma’s public school sites. The Profiles reports aid parents and school patrons in monitoring the effectiveness of their local district and schools and fulfills a reporting requirement under state law.

“School principals are supposed to be sending the School Report Cards home to every parent but the Office of Accountability now logs over two-million web-based downloads of School Report Cards per year and averages over 165,000 document downloads a month. People are interested in the performance of their public schools and our website is a one-stop shop for their data needs,” remarked Robert Buswell, Executive Director of the Office of Accountability. With the addition of Profiles 2008, there will be 12 years worth of Educational Indicator data available on the Office of Accountability’s website. “These documents are the most comprehensive and consistent source of educational data in the state. Oklahomans in general, and parents in particular, should look to these documents when assessing the efforts and achievements of their local school system,” said Buswell. “These documents should be used by parents and the community as a means of establishing dialogue with teachers, administrators, and their local board of education. Parents and patrons should complement the school system on things it has done well and also work with them on strategies to address any areas of weakness.”

The Office of Accountability has been producing report cards and statistical reports for nearly 15 years, and the district report is the office’s most comprehensive work. “One of the most important parts of the District Report is the community grouping model. It allows districts to compare their performance against that of their peers,” said Susan Field. The grouping model considers both a district’s enrollment and the socio-economic status of its students when categorizing districts into one of 16 possible groups. “School officials can look to other districts that are in similar circumstances and identify those that have figured out how to excel in teaching. They can then make contact with those more successful districts and then try to apply and adapt the proven techniques and strategies to their own district,” Field explained.

Oklahoma School Performance Review (OSPR) is another program administered by the Office of Accountability. OSPR was created in 2001 and is designed to help school districts make operations more efficient and effective with the ultimate goal of improving student performance. As a part of each review, educational and management consultants conduct onsite evaluations, study district data, interview stakeholders, and hold public meetings. The consultants then produce a report evaluating the following areas; 1) District Organization, Management, and Personnel, 2) Instructional Delivery, 3) Business Operations, 4) Facility Use and Management, and 5) Support Services (technology, food services, and transportation). Each report includes commendations, recommendations, and estimates of savings or costs in each of these areas.

“I have been impressed with the growth of this program. Over the past year, the Office of Accountability has presented School Performance Reviews to the boards of education in Okmulgee, Mounds, Tipton, Cement, Turner, and Thackerville; they are in the process of completing reviews for Duncan, Crooked Oak, and Hulbert; and they are getting ready to release an RFP for the review of one other good-sized school district. That makes a total of twenty-eight districts that will have received reviews, and the feedback that we have received from the superintendents and local board members has been very good,” said Ann Coody, Chairman of the Common Education Committee of the House. “The process not only allows the school districts to showcase their successes, but the consultants also provide detailed strategies to solve problems. The districts are free to utilize the provided strategies, modify them to their own liking, or come up with solutions of their own to tackle identified problems. I am very pleased to be working with the Office of Accountability and helping to improve public education across Oklahoma.”

School Performance Reviews take approximately eight to ten months to complete and are contracted out to consultant teams under the supervision of the Office of Accountability staff. Review teams are selected for the credentials of their team members, the quality of the work plan, the experience of the team members, and value for the price. If a district’s Academic Performance Index (API) is below the state average or if the percentage of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch is above the state average, then the Office of Accountability can cover 100% of the cost of a review. Districts wanting a review but not meeting the previous criteria pay 25% of the review cost. Costs of the reviews vary depending upon the size of the district and the number of districts being packaged together under one contract.

For more information about the Oklahoma Educational Indicators program or the Oklahoma School Performance Review program contact the Office of Accountability at (405) 225-9470, visit www.SchoolReportCard.org, or look for the Profiles 2008 reports in your local library.

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Lists of Schools Meeting Education Oversight Board's 25% Advanced Performance Benchmark:
(70% Scoring Satisfactory or Above and 25% Scoring Advanced on All Subjects Tested in that Grade)