2006-2007 Annual Report on

Curriculum Instruction and Student Achievement

October 2007

Lac qui Parle Valley

School District 2853

2006-2007 Report on Curriculum,

Instruction and Student Achievement

October 2007 - Lac qui Parle Valley School District

The purpose of this report is to inform district residents about curriculum and instruction at Lac qui Parle Valley School District 2853.  The district continues to utilize a curriculum review cycle for reviewing, revising and improving curriculum and for implementing the State Graduation Standards.  The focus of School District 2853 is on the student.  The board strives to provide facilities, personnel, equipment and instructional materials along with an organized and defined curriculum which will ultimately result in students meeting the State Graduation Standards and LqPV District's expectations and requirements.  This will be accomplished through a results oriented system for continuous improvement, planning, community involvement, public and state reporting.

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisory Committee

A Curriculum and Instruction Advisory Committee will be appointed annually to ensure community participation in planning and improving curriculum and instruction.  This committee may include persons and other community residents, pupils, and school staff. 

Committee Membership

Parents/Community

Up to 12 volunteers are to be selected.  To the extent possible, the selections will reflect the diversity of the district.  Appointments are to be made at the November School Board Meeting.  Terms will run from November through October.

Teacher:  Each building staff will appoint at least one teacher.

Administration:  An administrator from each building will be represented.  An administrator will facilitate the meeting.

Student:  The Student Council will appoint two students to the committee.  One will be an underclass student so that term will carry over.

School Board:  The School Board will appoint at least one board representative at their January organizational meeting.

2006-07 Student Achievement Goals

District

All students will meet state and local standards requirements by the end of grade 12.

Students will exceed state average performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments.

Students will exceed state average performance on the first attempt of the Basic Standards Tests.

Staff will continue to focus on improving student performance related to mathematic concepts and application skills.

Appleton / Milan Elementary

• The percent of A/M Elementary students that meet or exceed the established standards on the MCA II’s will increase by 2% in 2006-07.

Madison / Marietta / Nassua Elementary

• The percent of A/M Elementary students that meet or exceed the established standards on the MCA II’s will increase by 2% in 2006-07.

Lac qui Parle Valley High School

• Using MCA II scores, LqPV HS will increase the number of students who meet or exceed the standards on the 2007 Reading and Mathematics assessments by 2%.

Progress Toward Achieving Goals

Data provided by the Minnesota Department of Education indicates that all Lac qui Parle Valley Schools achieved AYP  (Adequate Yearly Progress) in Math and Reading as measured by scores on the MCA II (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) tests. The MCA II’s are state administered tests that are designed to measure student achievement and progress in Math, Reading and Writing.  Scores on these tests are also used to measure whether schools are making adequate yearly progress toward the goal of 100% of all students meeting the No Child Left Behind standards by 2015, as established by federal legislation.

2006-07 Student Demographics

Student Population: 960

White                          91%   

Hispanic                      3%

Asian                           3%

Black                            2%

American Indian        1%

Limited English Proficient                            3%                Attendance Rate                  95%

Special Education                                        14%                Graduation Rate                   99%

Free and Reduced Price Lunch               37%

Student Progress Toward Graduation

Lac qui Parle Valley requires students to earn 24 credits, to meet all of the state curriculum standards and to pass the GRAD (Graduation-Required Assessments for Diploma) to qualify for graduation.

GRAD, or Graduation-Required Assessments for Diploma, refers to three tests (reading, mathematics, and writing) that students who entered grade 8 in 2005-06 or later must pass in order to graduate from a Minnesota public high school. The GRAD replaces the Basic Skills Test (BST) which is in effect for students that entered eighth grade in 2004-05 or earlier.

Two of the GRAD tests will be part of the MCA-II series of tests associated with No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The grade 10 Reading MCA-II/GRAD and the grade 11 Mathematics MCA-II/GRAD serve dual purposes. First, the state will use them to calculate the Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP) for high schools. Secondly, students will use them to demonstrate that they have the reading and math skills Minnesota requires for graduation.  Students in grades 10 and 11 will take the MCA-IIs and, in the process, are also taking the GRAD.  Students who are not proficient on these tests or who do not pass the GRAD component can retake the GRAD component at later dates.  The third GRAD test is a writing test that is identical to the BST Test of Written Composition.  Students write to a prompt.

Their essay is given a score between 0 and 6 and a score of 3 or more is passing.

• All students in grade 9 must take the Written Composition Test.
• All students in grade 10 must take the Reading MCAII/GRAD and all students in grade 11 must take the Mathematics MCAII/GRAD.
• For students with a disability, the IEP Team decides whether the student participates, and by:
• taking the MCA-II/GRAD, with or without accommodations, or
• taking the Minnesota Test of Academic Achievement (MTAS)

Students who don’t pass the Reading or Mathematics MCA-II/GRAD will have many future chances to take the GRAD component, most likely on a computer.  Students who don’t pass the GRAD Test

of Written Composition in grade 9 will be able to take the test during subsequent years, either during the statewide testing window or during retest windows.

The following data reflects the progress 2006-07 students in 9^th – 12^th are making toward meeting graduation requirements.

                                      Pass Reading BST       Pass Math BST            Pass Writing BST        Exempt

Grade Enrollment State Individual State Individual State Individual

   9^th               73                ---               ---              ---               ---                67                  0                0

  10^th              78                77              0               75                0                75                  0                0

  11^th            101               101              0               99                0               101                 0                 1

  12^th              86                85               0               85                0                 85                 0                 1

ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS

How does a school or district meet AYP requirements?

A  "NO" in any category means the district did not meet AYP. This table shows that the Lac qui Parle Valley District met the required targets in participation and proficiency for reading and mathematics and the other required categories of attendance and graduation.

AYP Status:  Making AYP

Reading

Mathematics

*Attendance

*Graduation

Part. Rate

% Prof

Part. Rate

% Prof

Rate

Rate

All Students

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

American Indian/Alaskan Native