Three Key Takeaways From EleMiddle Schools with High Student Growth
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Top-Growth EleMiddle Schools Have a Larger Range in Top Scores
By: Sarah Potter, APR, Misti Jeffers, Ph.D., and Ashley Donaldson Burle
The Missouri Statewide Student Growth Report describes how PRiME researchers used the Missouri Growth Model measure and translated the state’s scale to help educators and the public better understand its significance. In our previous blog, we focused on elementary schools earning top PRiME Growth Scores in the report. Examining growth scores is vital because it paints a clearer picture of how much (or how little) students are learning over time and the effectiveness of the schools and educators.
We now turn our attention to eleMiddle schools achieving high PRiME Growth Scores. In this blog post, we highlight key takeaways and describe how eleMiddle Growth Scores compare to elementary schools achieving top 20 status. First, it’s important to understand what the term “eleMiddle” means. EleMiddle schools are schools with grades in both elementary and middle schools ranges. For example, a K-8 school would be included in the rankings of eleMiddle schools with top student growth scores. There are 164 eleMiddle schools with PRiME Growth Scores located across 150 districts and nine regions in Missouri. Overall, there are significantly fewer schools that fall into the eleMiddle category and therefore fewer schools receiving PRiME Growth Scores than the elementary (1,026) and middle (504) schools.
Here are three key takeaways from the Missouri Statewide Student Growth Report on eleMiddle schools with outstanding student growth:
1. The list of top 20 eleMiddle schools has a larger range in top scores.
Because there are fewer eleMiddle schools than elementary schools, we see a larger range in scores (above 90) for schools on each top 20 list. The range for the top 20 Growth Scores for eleMiddle schools is 90-98 whereas the same range for elementary schools is 95-100. For the subgroup, which includes historically underserved students, English language arts (ELA) and math Growth Scores range from 90-100. The same range for the top 20 elementary schools remains 95-100.
2. Several top-growth eleMiddle schools earning high schoolwide Growth Scores earn higher scores for the subgroup.
The No. 1 eleMiddle schools for both ELA (Glenwood Elementary) and math schoolwide (Ewing Marion Kauffman Middle School) also earn the top spots for ELA and math for the subgroup with even higher scores. Glenwood Elementary’s ELA subgroup Growth Score was 100.4 compared to 97.4 for schoolwide growth. Ewing Marion Kauffman Middle School earned the highest subgroup Growth Score of 99.4 for math compared to 98.8 for schoolwide growth. In examining other high-growth eleMiddle schools, Shell Knob Elementary, Avila Elementary, and KC International-Wallace all had top ELA schoolwide and subgroup Growth Scores, but earned higher Growth Scores for the subgroup category. Raymondvillle Elementary, Thornfield Elementary, and Mark Twain Elementary follow this same trend in math. The data shows these schools are serving all students well, but, importantly, these schools are serving students in the subgroup especially well. Serving traditionally underserved students at a high level indicates these schools are working to shrink achievement and opportunity gaps.
3. EleMiddle schools receiving top PRiME Growth Scores have a wide variety of proficiency rates.
Similar to elementary schools, we see a wide variety of proficiency rates from eleMiddle schools earning top PRiME Growth Scores. The No. 1 schools for each category (ELA and math, schoolwide and subgroup) have around a 50% proficiency rate, and only seven eleMiddle schools with the highest Growth Scores have proficiency rates higher than 70%. While some eleMiddle schools, such as Mark Twain Elementary in Southwestern Missouri, have a high proficiency rate (80%), others, such as Kingston Elementary in Northwestern Missouri, have very low proficiency rates (11.1%). Proficiency rates are typically lower in middle school grade levels.
To learn more about how we created the PRiME Growth Score and to see all of our lists of the top schools for student growth, read the full report by clicking the button below.
