The Profiles: State Report, Profiles: District
Report and School Report Cards provide you with
information about Oklahoma public schools. Although no single score, ratio or measurement
can quantify the academic soundness of a state, district, school or student, this series
presents a host of relevant educational statistics. This information can help readers
evaluate if the local education system is succeeding, and what areas need the most
improvement.
Parental and community involvement have a proven impact on student performance. The
Education Oversight Board and Office of Accountability challenge you to learn more about
your local schools and find out how you can become more involved in efforts to improve
their overall performance. The following items are provided as introductory discussions to
start communicating with children, teachers, administrators and school board members
regarding a school's performance.
Use the Reports to Guide
Individual Research
- Explore the local teaching and learning
processes by visiting the school and asking questions
- Ask what steps are being taken to improve
performance and how you can help
- Find out what can be done at home to help
your child progress in school
- Develop ideas for how the school can
support your teaching efforts at home
- Be supportive and encouraging to your
children about their academic performance
- Discuss the reasons for testing with your
children, encourage them to do their best and review results together
- Discuss test results and the reports with
other parents in you community
- Share your research and thoughts with
local administrators, school board members and teachers
Use the Reports to Guide
Community Discussion
The Profiles: State Report, Profiles: District Report and School
Report Cards divide information into three major reporting categories including
community and environment, education program and process, and student performance. The
following is a list of questions whose answers should be of common interest.
Community Characteristics
What efforts does our district make to address community characteristics, such as high
percentages of poverty, teen pregnancy and single-parent households, which may affect
performance results?
District Educational Process
How does our school compare to others in the Community Group?
How does our school compare to others in the state?
How does the district spend its money compared to other districts serving similar
communities?
Does the district's overall performance represent a good return on the community's
investment?
Does the district offer a high school curriculum that is both broad (many subject areas)
and deep (many courses in each subject area)?
Student Performance
What subject areas repeatedly show unsatisfactory student performance and what efforts are
being made to make improvements?
In how many subject areas did our school reach the 70% Performance Benchmark?
What percentage of the student population is being tested?
Other Important Issues
What do the reports reveal about other performance measures within the district, such as
dropout rates and average GPA of high school seniors?
Does Advanced Placement and ACT participation and scoring indicate that students are
preparing for some type of post-high school education?
Do Vo-Tech participation and completion rates indicate that students are preparing for
some form of post-high school trade or technical work?
What is the student attendance policy? How do absences affect learning and testing
outcomes?
How do teacher education, certification and attendance affect student learning?
What programs are being used to keep students in school? Are these programs effective?
What efforts are made by the school to provide a safe, disciplined and drug-free learning
environment? Are these efforts effective? |