The Mexico School Public School District saw a slight drop on the Annual Performance Report for the 2022-2023 school year released on Monday, December 18, 2023, by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Mexico School District scored 65.8% on this year’s APR.
Last year the District received a score of 66.3%.
Academic Achievement Growth in Mathematics increased from 21.7% to 55% for all students.
The district received 100% of points for Kindergarten Readiness and Individual Career and Academic Plan.
The district also received 100% of the points for graduation rate.
The Mexico School District says absenteeism remains a concern and has increased most significantly among the lowest performing groups of students since the pandemic.
The APR will be discussed at tonight’s (Tuesday) Mexico Board of Education meeting which starts at 5:30 at Central Office.
The Mexico School District provided the following break-down of the APR:
Mexico School District
APR Information 2023
DESE released the statewide Annual Performance Reports (APRs) for the 2022-23 school year.
APRs demonstrate the progress local education agencies (LEAs) and their individual buildings are making toward meeting the Standards and Indicators in the sixth version of the Missouri
School Improvement Program (MSIP 6).
MSIP is the state’s system for reviewing and accrediting/classifying LEAs.
It outlines expectations for school practices and student outcomes, with the goal of each student graduating ready for success in college, career, and life.
Our district scored a 65.8%, dropping from the 66.3% for 2021-22.
DESE info from 12/18 memo:
There are several key considerations when reviewing the 2023 APR data:
● Data may only be compared to 2022 APR data, and not previous APRs released under
MSIP 5.
● The statewide distribution of APR scores in 2023 is similar to that in 2022.
● Overall scores at the LEA level reflect the statewide assessment results reported in August 2023, and statewide trends in academic performance align to those reported
nationally.
● Interventions to fill in learning gaps must continue at a higher rate.
● Chronic absenteeism remains a concern and has increased most significantly among the lowest performing groups of students since the pandemic.
● Continuous improvement plans reflect that LEAs recognize the importance that planning plays in improving instruction and student performance.
What is APR?
● Annual Performance Report
● Directly linked to Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP 6) as an accountability and accreditation measure.
● The report provides schools and districts with feedback to drive continuous educational improvement.
● The APR is one tool used by DESE to review the district’s performance and continuous improvement efforts.
● MSIP is the statewide accountability system for reviewing and accrediting Local Education Agencies (LEAs).
It outlines expectations for school practices and student
outcomes with the goal of each student graduating ready for success in college, career, and life.
● The indicators evaluated on the MSIP 6 APR are divided into two sections: Performance metrics (70%) and Continuous Improvement metrics (30%).
What is this year’s APR score?
● 65.8%
What were the previous scores?
● 66.3%
Performance Metrics: 70% of the APR points and include the following indicators
● The district looks forward to consistent and comparable annual state data to support continuous improvement and identify areas to refine our practices.
● Academic Achievement Growth in Mathematics increased from 21.7% to 55% for all students and from 25% to 46.6% for subgroup students.
● An increase in success ready students for the Advanced Credit student group, meaning individuals enrolled in dual credit or AP classes or completed the IRC, demonstrated an increase from 50% to 75%
● The district scored 65% in the area of social studies.
This was the first year the social studies growth portion was measured under MSIP6.
● The report shows that English Language Arts (ELA) and subgroup achievement are challenging areas, as shown on the APR report. Our administration, instructional coaches, teacher-leaders, and faculty have action plans for curriculum and instruction addressing vertical alignment and subgroup achievement gaps.
● The low achievement our school district is seeing in Mexico is not an isolated issue.
Missouri student scores on statewide standardized tests are still lower than before the pandemic.
The state has initiated literacy initiatives (such as Read, Lead, Succeed) to support struggling school districts across the state. Additionally, the state has implemented initiatives such as Reading Success Plans (RSPs) to help identify early
reading difficulties. Mexico School District is already following the state requirements for identifying students who need reading success plans and is providing appropriate
interventions.
What is a subgroup?
● Students who have an African American background, are special education students, are English Learners, are free/reduced students. Our free and reduced rate is 77% in
Mexico.
Academic Achievement: Status
Academic Achievement: Growth
● Growth measures for the 2022 APR will only include ELA, math, science, and social studies.
The increase in points this year (10 points from 128 to 138) is due to the addition of the science and social studies sections, which were not included in last year’s APR.
Success-Ready Students
● The district received 100% of points for Kindergarten Readiness (Kindergarten Entry Assessment) and ICAP (Individual Career and Academic Plan).
● The Success-Ready performance score measures students’ readiness for the next phase of their educational experience and uses two measures for K-12 districts: College & Career Readiness Assessments (ACT, SAT, WorkKeys, ACCUPLACER, and ASVAB) and advanced coursework.
● The district implements a progressive system of ensuring students are prepared for their postsecondary work.
The district houses its own successful career center, Hart Career
Center.
The district partners with Moberly Area Community College to offer dual credit courses for high school students; in this program, students may obtain an Associate’s Degree when they graduate from high school, if they take full advantage of the program.
● The Success-Ready performance score also measures attendance.
The district did not receive any points for attendance.
Graduation Rate
● The district received 100% of the points for graduation rate. With the help of our counseling staff and our ability to participate in the rootEd Alliance grant to hire, train,
and utilize a post-secondary advisor, we now have additional support for students.
Whether that is through assisting students in securing financial aid, completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and working one-on-one with them to enroll
in college, earn a workplace credential, and/or enlist in the armed services.
Graduation Follow-Up:
● 75%
Continuous Improvement: 30% of the APR points and include the following indicators:
Improvement Planning:
CSIP
● The district’s strategic plan is critical for establishing district goals, developing action plans, and monitoring progress to enhance the education of our students.
Our district uses this framework to ensure that every student is successful with a rigorous and relevant curriculum.
Our district approved a strategic plan in October 2022, and it was updated in October 2023.
Response to Standards
● Not active until 2024
Climate and Culture Survey Results:
The district gained feedback from students, staff, and parents in a climate and culture survey in October 2023.
The results will be used to drive the strategic plan and refine our goals.
Those results are shared on the district website here.
MSIP Required Documentation
● The district received points for MSIP6 required documentation of the district audit, the Annual Secretary of the Board Report (ASBR), timely submission of school district data
Other Accreditation Submissions Met.
● Minimum threshold for fund balances
● Superintendent Appropriately Certified
● All Board Members participated in required orientation and training
● LEA Compliant with Federal and State Law
Other things we’re doing in-district
● Curriculum aligned with the Missouri Standards, which includes iReady data, mid-unit quizzes, end-of-unit tests, end-of-semester finals, and EOC data to track progress.
● One of the main focuses in reading right now is the Science of Reading.
The Science of Reading refers to how the brain learns to read and what teaching methods are shown to be effective.
There are two main areas associated with this, Phonological Awareness and Phonics.
Phonological awareness includes skills like rhyming, alliteration, identifying syllables, and blending syllables.
This skill also includes Phonemic awareness, which is
the ability to manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. Phonics is the process of teaching children to associate sounds (phonemes) to letters (graphemes).
The sound-letter connection is how children learn to read effectively.
● The low achievement our school district is seeing in Mexico is not an isolated issue.
Missouri student scores on statewide standardized tests are still lower than before the pandemic.
The state has initiated literacy initiatives (such as Read, Lead, Succeed) to support struggling school districts across the state.
● Additionally, the state has implemented initiatives such as Reading Success Plans (RSPs) to help identify early reading difficulties.
Mexico School District is already following the state requirements for identifying students who need reading success plans and is providing appropriate interventions.