H-M-S principals share student proficiency data

Recent testing data has principals at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn feeling confident about the direction of student proficiency rates.

All three principals commented on data derived from the 2021-22 Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) during the Oct. 17 school board meeting. The assessments are administered annually and are aligned with the Iowa Core standards to provide a clear and accurate assessment of student learning outcomes while also helping educators identify student growth, proficiency and readiness.

High school Principal Nate Hemiller reported that all three grades (9-11) who took the assessments scored better than state averages in English, math and science. In the latter subject area, students were 83.8 percent proficient, which put the district in the top 8.3 percent of the state.

"This is something we are very proud of and will strive to continue," Hemiller wrote in his report. "We will continue to keep improving our practices to raise our number of 'not yet proficient' students to 'proficient.' "

At the middle school, 73 percent of students scored proficient in math and English language arts. The middle school's overall performance clocked in at 57.54/100, which was around three points better than the state average of 54.7/100.

At the elementary school, only third and fourth graders are administered the assessments to gauge proficiency in math and English language arts. The only category that didn't meet the state average was fourth grade English language arts, which fell one point shy of meeting the state average of 62 percent.

"At conferences, teachers will be going over individual results with parents," Principal Ashley Benz wrote in her report. "As a building, our next step is to break down the data and determine where our students are doing well and where they are not meeting proficiency."