Crothersville Community Schools received the State Department of Education’s highest ranking in the recently released Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results.
AYP judges students and schools systems on three factors: ISTEP+ test scores and end of course assessments, improvements on passing rates and federal AYP determinations.
Both Crothersville Elementary and Crothersville High School received Exemplary ratings because of improvements in scores.
As a corporation, Crothersville received a 69.2 rating, an improvement of eight points over the previous year.
The high school received a rating of 65.4 showing an improvement of 8.3 points from last year; the elementary received a rating of 74.4, an improvement of 7.4 over the previous year.
Crothersville Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Terry Goodin said that students, parents, staff and the community should be pleased with the results of the DOE’s ratings for the local school.
“This is not just ISTEP scores, though they seem to gather the most attention by the public. This rating includes not only ISTEP, but attendance, graduations rates; it is the total school report card,” said Goodin. “It’s the one that matters.”
Crothersville has previously been on academic probation and ‘watch’ status because of lower than anticipated scores.
The superintendent said that the improved progress is a result of the school’s long range education plan.
“It involves parents, teachers, principals as well as students and there’s an emphasis on technology,” he said.
Students at all grade levels at Crothersville have access to Promethian Boards, an interactive computer based learning platform. Students use the devices like their parents used blackboards except education interaction with computers and the entire class add an element of entertainment and gaming with learning.
“We feel that we have a plan for success and plan to ‘stay the course’,” said Goodin. “Of course, that is not to say there won’t be some setbacks but right now our results are saying Crothersville schools is on the right track.
High School Principal David Schill echoed Goodin’s emphasis on technology.
“The Promethian Boards get the students enthused about learning,” he said. “Rather than sitting at a desk and hearing a lecture, this gets them involved and gets them first hand experience at how some of the classroom learning has real world applications to their lives.”
While Goodin and Schill said students, the school, parents and the community should be pleased and proud of this year’s school ranking, the process will soon begin again.
Testing of a new group of students begins in March and April 2011.
A review of all four Jackson County Schools, Scott County and Jennings County schools, according to state rating, shows Crothersville at the top of the educational progress ladder for this year.
How Other Area Schools Rated
08 Area Schools
