Results have come back for third-grade students taking standardized Atlas tests, and Eureka Springs students outscored most other schools in the 17-member educational co-op. Members of the school board heard that report at the June 8 board meeting.
Results of this test have been anxiously anticipated, since the state introduced a procedure to assess third-grade students before promoting them to fourth grade. In Eureka Springs, eight students, or 22 percent of the students tested, did not meet standards for promotion, but most were eligible for a variety of exemptions.
Almost half of Eureka Springs students tested at advanced or proficient levels. The district posted much higher success rates than Green Forest, at 33 percent, or Berryville, at 27 percent. Both those districts have significantly higher populations of students learning English.
With the new standards in place for promotion or retention of third graders, the district has provided additional resources to assess and remediate students at risk of failing the Atlas test.
The school board also heard an annual report from Carroll County Juvenile Officer Suzanne Villines. She said truancy rates have declined, although the highest rates of truancy come from repeat offenders, especially at the high school level. Villines emphasized the importance of building good attendance habits in the lower grades. She objected to the current limit of 20 days per school year that students can miss.
Villines said some after-school programs have helped to reduce truancy numbers. Those programs especially target students at the middle-school level, in an effort to build good habits before the riskier high-school stage. Villines said truancy lies at the heart of many juvenile problems. In the coming school year, Villines plans to work more closely with families, to emphasize the importance of showing up at school every day.
Villines’ office also offers alternative education programs for students in grades 6-12 who struggle in a conventional setting. A grant will continue that program for several years.
The district is required to develop school improvement plans for each campus, and those plans will be posted on the district website.