On Thursday November 7, 2024, the school board received a presentation prepared by Superintendent Elstad and Ken Griswold, our district’s data and assessment coordinator. The 3-hour retreat covered four topics: demographic data, academic and accountability data, perceptions data (from the Desired Daily Experiences survey created by Ken) and “other” data. Much of this data can be reviewed on the Minnesota Report Card: https://rc.education.mn.gov/#mySchool/orgId–10761000000__groupType–district__p–3
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA HIGHLIGHTS
- Ethnicity of students: 7.1% black/african american, 17.7% hispanic/latino, 69.9% white (5.3% combined Asian, American Indian or Alaskan, 2 or more races)
- Free Reduced Price (FRP) status: 39.7% of students, English Learners: 8.4%, IEP Status (special ed services): 17.7%
- 24 home languages other than English spoken by our students, mainly Spanish and Somali
ACADEMIC AND ACCOUNTABILITY DATA
Assessments are completed at the classroom level through daily, weekly and monthly reviews for individual students. Assessments at the district level are given 2-3 times yearly for review of groups of students (grade levels, school specific needs, subject curriculum, identifying gaps in learning and areas of improvement.) Assessments at the state level (MCAs) are given 1-2 times yearly to assess learning and curricula for meeting state standards and ensuring students are given a rigorous high-quality education.
MCA tests are developed and revised over time to assess changing and updated state standards. The state requires 95% of students to take state standardized testing. However, students have the right to opt out of taking this test as it is no longer required for high school graduation. Owatonna public schools typically would have a 70-80% participation rate, however this has decreased significantly to 50-55% for the reading test and 35-41% for the math test, in the last few years. Administration staff are discussing how to improve the participation rate. On the MN Report Card, MCA score reporting does NOT include the students who opt out of taking the MCA tests. However, the North Star Accountability Model will count those students who opt out as “not proficient.”
Better explanations of these measurements: https://www.gennextmsp.org/wp-content/uploads/MN-North-Star-Key-Messages-from-GN-DC-Aug-2018.pdf
Proficiency on the MCA reporting is defined as those students that “meet” and “exceed” expectations, and the students not proficient are those that “partially meet” or “do not meet” the expected standards.
The North Star Accountability Model was developed in 2020 to identify school districts in need of support services. There are 5 categories assessed in this model: academic achievement (MCA scores), progress toward English language proficiency for English learners, measures of academic progress from one year to the next, graduation rate, and consistent attendance (goal is >90% of school days attended.)
The scores below are reported as proficiency rates for Owatonna Public Schools (OPS) and Owatonna High School (OHS) for spring 2024 and can be found at the MN Report Card site: https://rc.education.mn.gov/#mySchool/orgId–10761000000__groupType–district__p–3
MCA tests for READING are taken in grades 3-8 and 10 (OHS 51% participation)
OPS 47.8% OHS 52.1% OHS North Star Report 27.2%
MCA tests for MATH are taken in grade 3-8 and 11 (OHS 35.5% participation)
OPS 47.3% OHS 37.9% OHS North Star Report 13.9%
MCA tests for SCIENCE are taken in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school (OHS 67.6% participation.)
OPS 30% OHS 30%
OTHER DATA
Fastbridge Screening Assessments are completed in grade K-8, three times yearly, for math and reading, to identify student needs.
Graduation rates for Owatonna High School have been consistently matching or exceeding the state average for years 2018-2023 (2024 graduation rates are not available until 2025). The most recent 3 years of reporting show a rate of 87% graduating OHS and the state average is 83%.
The MN Report Card also has data including early childhood information, school spending, student safety, staffing information, and after graduation outcomes data. The district keeps internal data reports for technology use, academic grades per course and grade level, and course enrollment data.
PERCEPTIONS DATA
This data comes from the third year of taking the Desired Daily Experiences (DDE) survey that was developed by Ken Griswold and is given to students, staff, and parents each fall. The questions are based on our strategic directions which are: high quality teaching and learning, safe and caring community, equity, and 21st century learners. Each school uses the data to make changes and plans for improvements. The family survey added two open ended questions asking for opinions on those things they feel are going well and those that may need changes. Check out the survey and all the answers: https://sites.google.com/isd761.org/dde-survey-reports-public/home?pli=1
The retreat was full of helpful information and yet I’d still like to review more data to assess our policy effectiveness. Topics to review may include behavioral and discipline issues, health wellness and illness data, detailed attendance data, social emotional learning program data to assess effectiveness, technology use data and screen time during the school day, time involved in creative and/or outdoor activities, and the list goes on. This will take time!
More to come… I have a report to write here on the CACR presentation and the last work session also! Stay tuned. Congratulations to the newly elected board members, Ron Kubicek and Andrea VanGelder!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Elizabeth for Owatonna Schools 