The St. Joseph School District continues to implement changes to strengthen academic instruction and improve student performance. The focus on this work remains at the forefront for the SJSD as the state releases its Annual Performance Report (APR).
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) uses the APR to measure achievement for districts and charters throughout the state using Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP5) standards: Academic Achievement, Subgroup Achievement, High School Readiness (K-8 districts) or College and Career Readiness (K-12 districts), Attendance Rate and Graduation Rate.
Student performance on tests administered through the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) is reported in terms of four achievement levels; below basic, basic, proficient and advanced. This year, the APR includes both statistical and visual representations of performance rather than point totals and percentages, allowing school districts and charters to focus on the student data rather than points.
SJSD APR Summary Report
The District saw improvements this year in the areas of attendance and ACT scores and made gains on a key college and career readiness standard. At the same time, the APR showed the SJSD's Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) scores remained below desired outcomes. At the time of this release, science scores had not been added to the APR.
"While we are pleased with the positive data in the report, we know must continue to address the areas in which we fell short," said Dr. Doug Van Zyl, SJSD Superintendent. "There are many factors that help us guide students toward success and the APR is one indicator we can use to measure academic achievement in addition to social and emotional learning."
During the past year, the St. Joseph School District has taken steps to target areas of concern, close achievement gaps and improve student outcomes. The changes include a cross-departmental collaboration with a focus on additional behavior interventions to ensure a productive classroom environment, a focus on foundational practices for instruction, and a focus on close alignment to curricular standards.
"The challenges we processed last year after closing two elementary schools and overhauling our secondary schedules had an impact on our outcomes. We are focused on improving and are working hard to provide the supports for learning that will make sure our students and all parts of our district are working with this focus. This improvement will take a commitment from everyone, from our parents to every member of our staff, coming together as partners to move achievement forward," said Dr. Marlie Williams, SJSD Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services.
The Supporting Data Report is available on the MCDS Portal where the APR is located. The information is located in the School Accountability & Performance section. The MSIP 5 Comprehensive Guide is available here.