Luther High School pulled up its grade from an overall D to a C on the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s annual State Report card, released earlier this week for the 2018-19 academic year. Luther Elementary and Middle School held on to their overall C letter grade but dipped slightly on a few markers.
Luther High School, with Principal Shawn Meek, showed improvement in Academic Achievement, Graduation, Chronic Absenteeism and Post-Secondary Opportunities. While there was improvement in the Academic Achievement category, LHS’s Academic Achievement score was 29%, up from 2017-18’s number of 24%.
While LHS’s Academic Achievement was in the bottom quarter, the state’s overall grade in the same category was only 39%. It is one of the challenging areas the report cards reveal. According to a news release from OSDE. Academic achievement declined in all tested grades. That drop was most pronounced in high schools, which do not have a mechanism to show academic growth, the release said.
State School Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said the decline is concerning and worthy of focus.
“As we celebrate individual student growth, we must focus on meeting students where they are and preparing them for the next grade, course or level so that they are successful in life after high school. If we do not make meaningful changes in our instructional practices, we will not see meaningful change in our academic performance,” said Hofmeister.
“If districts have done nothing different than what they’ve always done, they likely saw a drop in their overall letter grade.”
LHS’s Academic Achievement grade reflects the composite score with Math, English and Science. Looking at each subject, LHS’s science score was the highest at 43.9 while Math was 35.5 and English was 38.4. The composite score was 29.4%
Luther Elementary, led by Principal Tracey Davenport, showed dips in academic achievement, from 54% (D) to 34% (D) and chronic absenteeism, 87% (C) from 91% (B), but had a big improvement in academic growth to B from C. The scores kept Luther Elementary at an overall C grade for the 2018-19 academic year.
Luther Middle School, led by a new principal, Mr. Rob Shinn, also showed a dip in academic achievement, but improvement scores in academic growth and chronic absenteeism.
The results from Luther and all Oklahoma public schools can be found at oklaschools.com. The website has collected various data, such as student demographics and the availability special programs like advanced placement clases, fine arts or computer science.
While the state says it will make more data available on this website, some additional digging shows some other factors pertaining to public education and state expenditures. State data shows that Luther Public Schools spends more on its students than surrounding districts including Harrah, Wellston, Jones and Edmond. LPS’s cost per student is less than $12,000 per student, while Jones spends $9,500 per student.
Grades for the high schools at the other districts including Luther’s C, was Harrah, D; Jones, C; Wellston, B; and all four Edmond high schools, B.
