Area schools get good report cards

School hasn't started yet in the Brainerd lakes area but the report cards are in.

The Minnesota Department of Education released Monday the 2005 School Report Cards, based on the annual No Child Left Behind adequate yearly progress measures of student academic achievement and the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment reading and math tests.

Schools across the state showed clear improvement this year. Last year the state listed 464 schools that weren't meeting performance standards while this year that number dropped to 247 schools, nearly a 50 percent reduction. The state also ranked each school to show how the schools and districts are faring in terms of reading and math proficiency.

A five-star rating is a perfect score, four stars is an above average score and three stars indicates a school made adequate yearly progress. Two stars or below indicates a school failed to meet adequate yearly progress.

All schools in the Brainerd School District met or exceeded adequate yearly progress. Last year Washington Middle School and Brainerd High School missed their performance goals, but this year both schools received four stars in both math and reading. Mississippi Horizons received four stars in reading and three stars in math while the Brainerd School District Learning Center received three stars in both reading and math.

The list of 123 Minnesota schools that received a perfect five-star rating in both math and reading included six of the eight Brainerd elementary schools -- Nisswa, Garfield, Harrison, Lowell, Riverside and Whittier, said Brainerd Assistant Superintendent Gary Phillips. Lincoln and Baxter elementary schools both received a five-rating in math while Lincoln received a three-star rating in reading and Baxter a four-star rating in reading.

Phillips said significant improvement in scores occurred at BHS, which received two stars in both math and reading last year. Phillips said last year students didn't appear to take the test as seriously, but they did this year. This, along with the new school attendance policy and closed campus, helped boost attendance rates, said Phillips. Ninety-nine percent of BHS students took the state-required tests.

Most area schools met or exceeded the state performance standards.

Pequot Lakes Schools all met adequate yearly progress. Eagleview Elementary received three stars in both math and reading while Pequot Lakes Middle School received four stars in math and three in reading. Pequot Lakes High School received three stars in math and four stars in reading.

All Crosby-Ironton schools, including Cuyuna Range Elementary School, the middle school, high school and Range Area Alternative program received three stars in both reading and math.

Pierz's Pioneer Elementary School received three stars in math and four stars in reading while Healy High School received three stars in both reading and math.

Little Falls Schools all met or exceeded three stars or above. Lincoln Elementary and the middle school received three stars in both math and reading while Lindbergh and Knight Elementary schools receive four stars in math and three stars in reading. Little Falls High School received four stars in both math and reading while Little Falls Continuing Education received three stars in both math and reading.

Aitkin High School and Rippleside Elementary in Aitkin received three stars in both math and reading while Palisade Elementary School received a four in math and a perfect score of five in reading.

The Pillager School District received three stars in both math and reading at both the elementary and high school.

Staples-Motley schools all made adequate yearly process. Staples Elementary and Staples-Motley High School received three stars in both reading and math while Motley Elementary received four stars in both reading and math.

Pine River-Backus schools individually met adequate yearly progress but Pine River-Backus Superintendent Cathy Bettino said the district was notified that one of the district's subgroups did not make adequate yearly progress two years in a row.

Otherwise, Pine River Elementary received a four in math and a perfect score of five stars in reading and Backus Elementary received a four in both math and reading. Pine River-Backus High School received three stars in both math and reading. The high school and Backus Elementary both had higher scores than last year.

Walker-Hackensack-Akeley schools made adequate yearly progress except for W-H-A Elementary school, which received two stars in math as well as three stars in reading. The middle school received three stars in both math and reading while the high school received three stars in math and five stars in reading.

JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.