Covid impacts school report cards across the state

School report cards in Siloam Springs and across the state look a bit different because of covid-19.

Arkansas Department of Education released abbreviated 2020 report cards on Jan. 19 for individual schools, districts and the state, according to a press release. Because schools statewide were closed for in-person instruction last spring, the state received a waiver for federally-mandated tests, it states. As a result, some data that is typically reported was not available and schools did not receive a letter grade for the year.

Since the 2020 spring summative ACT Aspire tests did not occur, Siloam Springs school administrators looked at interim tests scores from this school year to determine if students are on track, Assistant Superintendent Amy Carter reported at the Jan. 14 school board meeting.

So far students have taken two out of three interim ACT tests, Carter said. The tests project if students will be ready to meet readiness goals during the spring ACT Aspire tests, she said. The scores she presented reflected a combination of the first two tests, she said.

Both local and statewide interim test scores show a “covid-19 slide,” Carter said. Students not only missed out on in-person learning last spring, but they also continue to miss school as they are quarantined or as schools close because of the virus, she said. Even thought some of the scores are low, almost all of them are higher than the state average, she said.

Carter also compared the number of students who met readiness goals during the 2019 summative Aspire tests with the number of students who were projected to meet readiness goals based on their 2020 interim test scores.

In science, the highest interim test score for Siloam Springs was in seventh grade, where 47% of local students were projected to

be ready to meet goals during the 2020 interim tests compared to 40% of students across the state. The lowest score for science in Siloam Springs was in third grade, where 32% of local students were projected to be ready compared to 19% of students across the state.

In math, the highest score for Siloam Springs students was in third grade, where 48% of local students were projected to be ready to meet goals compared to 35% across the state. The lowest score was in 10th grade, where 19% of local students were projected to be ready compared to 17% of students across the state. Only in sixth grade, did Siloam Springs students score below the state average in math, with 31% of local students projected to by ready compared to 35% of students statewide.

In reading, the highest score for Siloam Springs students was in eighth grade where 46% of local students were projected to be ready compared to 46% across the state. The lowest score in reading in Siloam Springs, which was also the only score to fall behind the state average in reading, was in fifth grade where only 21% of local students were projected to be ready compared to 22% across the state.

Carter noted that students are making gains compared to 2019 testing data.

“All of our percents are not where we want them to be at the end of the year, but this is our halfway point, so if we can continue to make gains in this interim three as well as the final summative piece, then when we are looking at our 2021 summative data, compared to 2019… hopefully our data will show us that we made some strategic gains even though covid has been an issue,” Carter said.

In his school report card press release, ADE Secretary Johnny Key also noted that covid-19 has had an impact on students.

“There is no doubt that covid has had a significant impact on student learning,” he said. “While we don’t have all the data we would like to have to measure student and school success for the 2019-20 school year, the 2020 school report cards still provide valuable information that can be used to identify best practices and areas that need improvement. I encourage parents and educators to review the data and use it to make informed decisions regarding student learning moving forward.”

Graduation rate data for 2020 is one data point that is available, the ADE press release states. The statewide four-year graduation rate increased from 87.6% to 88.8%, it states. Siloam Springs four-year graduation rate did decline slightly to 88.4% compared to previous years, Carter said.

“We know it, now we just need to work together to figure out the best way to keep kids engaged in school,” she said. “It’s not the best news but we are going to work on it.”

School report cards can be accessed online at myschoolinfo.arkansas.gov/.