Accountability and Assessment results for the 2024-2025 school year have been released and Marion County Public Schools continues to see the type of steady improvement that Superintendent Chris Brady says is a sign of the academic focus of the district.
“The more a district improves the way it approaches instruction, the more difficult it is to see dramatic changes in these types of results. Instead, what I want to see are those consistent improvements from year to year,” Brady said. “The past few years our schools have seen some significant jumps with their assessment data as they made systemic changes. Now we’re at a point where we’re fine-tuning instruction so we can continue to see gradual progress.”
Notable improvements included:
6% growth in reading proficiency
12% growth in math proficiency
13% growth in social studies proficiency
There was at least one area that saw a huge step forward: Post-secondary readiness scores increased by 43%.
As far as results at individual schools, West Marion Elementary led the way with a BLUE overall performance rating, the highest performance rating possible.
“I’m very proud of the results at West Marion, and those results speak to the efforts of the teachers and staff at that school and their willingness to challenge their students,” Brady said. “But as we’ve dug into the data, we’re really pleased with our results district-wide. The color-coded rating makes it easy to get a quick snapshot of a school’s performance, but it doesn’t always tell the whole story.”
For example, Brady pointed to the two middle schools whose performance ratings were affected in part by the reorganizing of those schools back to a more traditional 6-8 configuration.
“Part of that performance rating is based on the change from year-to-year, but where the middle schools were reconfigured, their scores couldn’t reflect some of those improvements,” Brady said.
Brady attributed the district’s continual improvement to the efforts of the teachers and other staff members.
“Our teachers have embraced high expectations and changes in curriculum over the past couple of years and there’s no doubt that’s led to academic success,” Brady said. “But there are so many others -- cafeteria staff, bus drivers, office staff, instructional assistants -- that make our schools a welcoming place to learn. That has an effect as well and it’s reflected in the school climate and safety survey, which is also factored into our accountability scores.”
Brady encouraged families to explore the performance data for the district and schools, but also noted the importance of reviewing their child’s individual performance.
“The rating that each school earns receives the most attention, but I think as a parent or guardian you should really focus on how your child performed,” he said. “One of the best ways to help with your child’s academic progress is to be aware of his or her strengths and areas for growth.”
Performance ratings are reflected in one of five color-coded levels: Red (lowest performance), Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue (highest performance).
MCPS schools received the following performance ratings:
Marion County High School - GREEN
Lebanon Middle School - YELLOW
Marion County Middle School - GREEN
Calvary Elementary School - GREEN
Glasscock Elementary School - GREEN
Lebanon Elementary School - YELLOW
West Marion Elementary School - BLUE
You can explore all the released assessment data here.