W’burg students score average on state assessments

Williamsburg Independent School students were average compared to the rest of the state on the latest round of state assessments scores with the elementary, middle and high schools each earning three stars out of a possible five stars on the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) accountability system.

“The overall result is that all schools and our district earned three stars as part of Kentucky’s new accountability system. Schools in our district received results in 13 categories and we are very pleased to report that Williamsburg’s scores improved in all 13 categories from Spring 2018,” school officials said in a release.

“Williamsburg Elementary, Middle, and High are all improved from previous results. We are very pleased with this growth as everyone in our district worked exceptionally hard during the 2018-19 school year and our efforts have paid off.”

Williamsburg High Schools students exceeded state averages in all four subject areas that they were evaluated on, including reading, mathematics, writing, and science.

The indicators such as “very high” were used to indicate that our students are excelling with the best schools in the Commonwealth. The science results and on-demand writing results at the high school level fell into this category, the school release noted.

Elementary and middle school students were also assessed in the area of social studies. Elementary and middle school students finished behind the state averages in mathematics, writing, and science. Middle school students also finished behind the state averages in social studies too.

“At the middle school level, students are academically growing at ‘high’ level as compared to other middle school students across Kentucky,” according to the release.

In addition to proficiency in subject areas, the overall school score is also based on students’ academic growth/progress over one academic year at elementary and middle school level.

At the high school level, it is based on subject area assessments in addition to graduation rate and transition readiness, which historically has been known as college and career readiness.

The school district noted in the release that it has indicators that tell it there is still work to do.

“A lot of those indicators needing work involve setting systems in place.  For instance, our Transition Readiness at our High School did not score as well as we had hoped. Transition Readiness measures students who are deemed College Ready and students who are Career Ready,” the release stated.

“Three years ago, Williamsburg did not offer a career pathway on our campus for students to become Career Ready. At present, Williamsburg has six career pathways on our campus ranging from Biomedical Sciences to a Computer Science career major. In addition, we are implementing new, evidence-based, instructional programs at all levels.”

As a whole, the Williamsburg Independent School District ranked 73^rd out of 174 school districts statewide.

“Williamsburg’s vision continues to drive decision-making at all levels and the work that has occurred and continues daily indicate that we are on the right track of providing students with a world-class education. Williamsburg Independent School, where excellence is not only a tradition, but a way of life!” the release stated.

High school assessment

Williamsburg High School had an overall score of 62.9, and ranked 94 out of 228 high schools on the 2018-2019 assessments.

On the 2018-2019 assessments, 60.3 percent of Williamsburg High School students scored proficient or above in reading compared to 44.5 percent statewide. 41.7 percent scored proficient or above in math compared to 35.3 percent statewide. 82.8 percent of students scored proficient or above in writing compared to 50.3 percent statewide. 41.4 percent scored proficient or above in science compared to 29.9 percent for the state.

Middle school assessment

Williamsburg Middle School students had an overall score of 64.6, and ranked 94th out of 319 middle schools.

On the 2018-2019 assessments, 63.0 percent of Williamsburg Middle School students scored proficient or above in reading compared to 59.6 percent statewide. 38.1 percent scored proficient or above in math compared to 46.4 percent statewide. 13.9 percent of students scored proficient or above in writing compared to 31.9 percent statewide. 56.9 percent of students scored proficient or above in social studies compared to 58.8 percent statewide. 25.8 percent scored proficient or above in science compared to 26.0 percent for the state.

While middle school student percentages were less than the state average in many areas, students progressed in all five subject areas when comparing the 2017-2018 results to the 2018-2019 results. Students made the biggest jump in social studies going form 26.8 percent scoring proficient or above in 2017-2018 to 56.9 percent in 2018-2019.

Elementary school assessment

Williamsburg Elementary School had an overall score of 64.9, and ranked 389 in the state out of 725 elementary schools.

On the 2018-2019 assessments, 57.5 percent of Williamsburg Elementary School students scored proficient or above in reading compared to 54.6 percent statewide. 38.0 percent scored proficient or above in math compared to 48.6 percent statewide. 24.6 percent of students scored proficient or above in writing compared to 46.6 percent statewide. 55.7 percent of students scored proficient or above in social studies compared to 53.0 percent statewide. 31.1 percent scored proficient or above in science compared to 31.7 percent for the state.

Between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, elementary student assessments increased in every category except for science. The biggest increase came in social studies with 22.8 percent of students scoring proficient or above in social studies in 2017-2018 compared to 55.7 percent scoring proficient or above in 2018-2019.