Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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| They made the grade on the state's SOLs |
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
By FROM BULLETIN AND AP REPORTS -
RICHMOND — All schools in Henry County, Martinsville and Patrick County are fully accredited under the state’s Standard of Learning testing, the Virginia Department of Education said Wednesday.
Henry County School Board Chairman Kathy Rogers said full accreditation is “a big deal.”
“It is a big deal, especially if they don’t make it. We’re really pleased that all the school division is fully accredited,” she said Thursday. “It also just goes to show that if we challenge our students that they are up to that challenge. It wasn’t that long ago that you were hearing protests about SOLs and how hard they were. This proves you can have rigor in classroom and kids can be successful with that.”
County school spokesman Melany Stowe added: “Of course our students and our teachers and our principals are all excited their schools are fully accredited. That’s one measure of many that we strive for on a daily basis.”
Martinsville School Superintendent Scott Kizner had told the city school board at its meeting Monday that he expected all four city schools to be accredited.
On Wednesday, he said the system is most pleased that of the 20 areas in which the school system is evaluated, it improved in 17.
“The high school and Albert Harris (Elementary School) improved in every area, Patrick Henry (Elementary) continued to have extremely high schools, and the (Martinsville) middle school improved in two our of four,” Kizner said. “That’s a tribute to our staff and students.”
Patrick County School Superintendent Roger Morris also credited his system’s staff, students and the community for the accreditation.
Success on the SOLs was difficult 10 years ago, but it has “become the expectation from our community,” he said.
Morris said Patrick County has put a priority on education, and the number of perfect scores on the SOLs show the “things we’re doing on instruction are correct. We’re doing the right things.”
The local schools are among the 98 percent of the state’s public schools which are fully accredited, the highest percentage since statewide testing in English, math, history and science began 10 years ago, the department of education stated.
Students at all but 41 of the state’s 1,867 schools met or exceeded state objectives on Standards of Learning tests and other statewide assessments in the four core academic areas.
“Virginia’s public schools have accomplished what many 10 years ago thought was impossible,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright said in a news release. “With the sustained support of governors, legislators and policy makers from both parties, teachers and other educators have met the challenge of higher standards and students are achieving at significantly higher levels in nearly every school.”
Ninety-six percent of Virginia’s 312 middle schools are now fully accredited, up from 87 percent last year, officials said. Seventeen schools were accredited with warning, down from 54 last year, and 48 schools that were on warning last year received full accreditation.
Fourteen new schools were automatically classified as conditionally accredited for 2008-09. Six schools earned full accreditation after undergoing reconstitution and being conditionally accredited for one or more years. The ratings of four schools seeking conditional accreditation will be determined by the Board of Education during a meeting Thursday.
Three Petersburg schools — J.E.B. Stuart Elementary, Peabody Middle and Vernon Johns Junior High — were denied accreditation. Ellen W. Chambliss Elementary in Sussex County also was denied accreditation after not meeting state standards.
The status of A.P. Hill Elementary in Petersburg, which was the subject of a department investigation of assessment irregularities, will be determined by the board Thursday.
Officials said the board will determine the status of William Fleming High School in Roanoke, which also was the subject of an investigation of testing practices, at its October meeting.
In middle and high schools, 70 percent of students must pass in all four SOL subject areas to be fully accredited. In elementary school, 75 percent must pass English tests in the third through fifth grades. Also for elementary schools, 70 percent must pass math and fifth-grade science and history, and 50 percent must pass third-grade science and third-grade history.
Adjustments also can be made for English learners and for students who recently have transferred into a state public school. |
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