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Dr. Robins on SAGE scores and School Grades

The Utah State Office of Education recently released Utah’s student end of level assessment scores called SAGE as well as school grades and the PACE report cards. This is all available by clicking on the link provided. This is always a stressful and exciting time in schools as this data comes back to each school. I would encourage you as a parent or patron to take a few minutes and review Juab School District schools’ performance this year. It is important to remember that school performance data is only a snapshot in time of academic performance of the students in that school. Learning is an endeavor that doesn’t start or end with a test or report card. Our students are engaged in academic learning as well as rich activities all year long. Our ultimate purpose in JSD is to graduate students ready for college, career, and life. The academic performance data that has been released does give us as a school community the necessary information we need to celebrate our strengths and highlight the areas for needed improvement. The most important aspect to this data is to hopefully open a dialogue with your student and their teacher about the student’s own progress towards the goals they have. Our mindset is one of growth and improvement. In JSD, we will continue to provide the best education possible to our students. I am very proud of our students’ academic performance and there is much to celebrate in JSD. A few highlights to mention: The graduation rate in JSD continues to hover around 95% under the cohort formula. Our overall ACT composite average score remains at 20. The JHS math scores rank #2 compared to 20 schools most like JHS. The JJHS language arts proficiency scores remain in the top 10 when compared to 20 schools most like JJHS. At Red Cliffs Elementary, our students improved in math proficiency overall by 4% and 9% improvement in science. Mona Elementary remains as one of the top Title I schools in Utah as their students scored in the top 10 in math, language arts, and science when compared to 20 schools that are most like them. Their math scores lead the way ranked #5 this year. As we break down our performance data, it is also important to recognize areas for improvement and work together to address these concerns. As we know, today’s Utah core standards are more rigorous than they have ever been. This is essential if we want our students to truly be prepared for their future. For me, the ACT test is an assessment that we can all agree is a major gatekeeper in our students’ path to the careers they want to pursue and the colleges they want to attend. Although our ACT composite score is right with the state average, our students meeting college readiness benchmarks is in need of improvement. The state average in students meeting all four benchmarks is 23%. In Juab School District, we are at an average of 17% of our students meeting all four college readiness benchmarks. (College readiness benchmarks: English 18, Math 22, Social Science 22, and Science 22) As a school community, it is our challenge starting with kindergarten through 12th grade to fully engage our students in deeper learning experiences if we are to better prepare our students for the future. If you have questions or concerns don’t hesitate to visit with your child’s teacher or principal about ways we can work together to improve your student’s experience in JSD. I am very appreciative of our terrific teachers, staff, parents, and mostly our students for all they do in pursuit of their dreams and goals.

Thanks

Dr. Robins

SAGE, Utah School Grades, PACE Report Cards link: https://datagateway.schools.utah.gov/