USD 398 receives academic awards years ago
Last year was a good year for academic achievement in the Peabody-Burns school district. For the first time since the State of Kansas started awarding Standard of Excellence awards for testing results, Peabody-Burns received three grade level awards and two school awards.
Last year's test results showed that the fourth grade math students and the eighth grade English and social studies students achieved the standard of excellence. This is a level that the state has established that shows that schools have raised the standard in those areas and more students are meeting or exceeding the requirements on the test.
Last year's test results showed a high number of students scoring in the "proficient or above" level for their age group with a large number being categorized as exemplary students.
From the quality of the state test results and with these subjects being labeled as meeting the Standard of Excellence, the schools also were listed as Standard of Excellence schools. This is quite an honor and something that the school is proud of achieving.
There have been several factors that have led to this success, but the most important factors are the teachers and their work in preparing students as well as students understanding the seriousness of the test.
The latest success story for Peabody-Burns academics is the Challenge Award received for improvement in 11th grade reading scores. This award is based on how a district improves its test scores while factoring in its social economic status and population of ethnicity.
In this grade level on last year's test USD 398 was successful with its improvements. This award is given to the top 5 percent of schools in each of the testing areas. It is hard for smaller schools to receive because of the SES and ethnicity factors they use in calculating this award.
The award ceremony was held in Junction City with most of the state board of education there to award the certificates. Mr. Alstrom, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Unruh, Mrs. Leppke, Mrs. Alstrom, and board president Doe Ann Hague attended the awards ceremony.
The junior-senior high school will be having an awards assembly at 2:45 Wednesday (today) to present certificates to those students who were recognized by the state for academic excellence last year.
At the current time students are not tested in every subject every year but the state is moving in that direction.
The district is working hard to prepare for those additional testing grades and subjects as they become available. It also is working on the new online testing procedure the state is developing for future tests.
