Lawrence schools meet state’s academic standards

If a newspaper doesn’t win a Pulitzer Prize, is it a failure?

The answer is no, said Julie Boyle, the Lawrence school district’s communications director. And if a school doesn’t receive a Standard of Excellence award from the Kansas State Department of Education, it is not a failure, either.

“The Standard of Excellence is an honor for exemplary performance,” she said, pointing to the 20 Lawrence public schools that achieved the state’s standard of excellence in reading, math, science or history/government. “All of our schools met standards.”

A graphic in Thursday’s Journal-World inaccurately described the progress made by Lawrence schools in state standardized test scores. The graphic implied that many schools failed to meet state standards or Adequate Yearly Progress, when in fact the district has no schools defined by the state as “on improvement,” and almost every school achieved the standard of excellence in at least one subject.

It’s something teachers should be proud of, said Kim Bodensteiner, the district’s chief academic officer.

“I think it’s a tremendous acknowledgment of their work to not just meet the AYP standards, but to achieve high levels of success for their students,” she said. “Almost all of them have achieved the standard of excellence in one or more areas, so that’s a significant improvement over the years, in terms of reaching the highest bar.”

School report card

Lawrence students improved their performance on state assessment tests this year. Many grade levels at local schools achieved the state’s Standard of Excellence in reading, math, science and history/government. Here’s a list of which schools and grade levels met the Standard of Excellence:

  • Broken Arrow: Overall, reading and math; third through sixth grades, reading; third, fifth and sixth grades, math.
  • Cordley: Overall, reading and math; third through sixth grades, reading; third, fourth and sixth grades, math.
  • Deerfield: Overall, reading; fourth and sixth grades, reading; fifth and sixth grades, math.
  • Hillcrest: Sixth grade, reading and math.
  • Langston Hughes: Overall, reading and science; fifth and sixth grades, reading; fifth and sixth grades, math.
  • New York: Overall, reading, math and science; fourth and sixth grades, reading; third and fourth grades, math.
  • Pinckney: Overall, reading and math; third, fifth and sixth grades, reading; third and fifth grades, math.
  • Prairie Park: Overall, reading; third and fourth grades, reading.
  • Quail Run: Overall, reading and math; fourth through sixth grades, reading and math; science.
  • Schwegler: Overall, reading; fourth grade, reading; third and fourth grades, math.
  • Sunflower: Overall, reading and math; third through sixth grades, reading; third and sixth grades, math.
  • Sunset Hill: Overall, reading and math; third through sixth grades, reading; third, fifth and sixth grades, math.
  • Wakarusa Valley: Overall, reading and math; fourth through sixth grades, reading and math.
  • Woodlawn: Overall, reading and math; third, fifth and sixth grades, reading; third and fourth grades, math.
  • Central: Overall, reading.
  • South: Overall, reading and math; seventh and eighth grades, reading; seventh grade, math.
  • Southwest: Overall, reading, math, science and history/government; seventh and eighth grades, reading and math.
  • West: Overall, reading; seventh and eighth grades, reading.
  • Free State High: Overall, reading.
  • Lawrence High: Overall, math.
  • Lawrence Virtual School: Overall, reading; seventh and eighth grades, reading.