Dec. 5, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jeffco Public Schools announce school accountability ratings

Jeffco Public Schools had 54 percent of its neighborhood, option and charter schools earn excellent or high ratings in the most recent School Accountability Report (SAR) results released today.

Jeffco’s 2006-07 SAR results also included 27 percent of schools with “average” ratings, 13 percent “low,” 2 percent “unsatisfactory,” and 3 percent that received no ratings.  Schools do not receive ratings if they meet one of the following criteria:

• The school does not have students within the grade level for Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) testing.
• More than 95 percent of enrolled students had an Individual Education Program (IEP).
• More than 95 percent of enrolled students met the definition of “high risk” as determined by state statutes.

For Jeffco “neighborhood” (excluding option and charter schools) elementary schools,  half (50 percent) were rated “excellent” or “high,” while more than 75 percent of Jeffco “neighborhood” middle and high schools were rated “excellent” or “high” for the 2007 SAR.

“I am incredibly proud of these results because it shows how hard our students, staff and parents are working to achieve academic success for all Jeffco children,” said Jeffco Public Schools Superintendent Cindy Stevenson.

The Colorado School Accountability Report primarily focuses on student performance by using scores from CSAP, and ACT for high schools.  Schools receive an overall rating of excellent, high, average, low or unsatisfactory, and a rating indicating how much the school has improved from the previous year.

Other highlights from Jeffco’s School Accountability Report:

• A total of 15 percent of neighborhood elementary school are rated “excellent” in 2007 – an increase of 1 percentage point from 2006.
• The number of neighborhood middle schools rated “excellent” doubled from 2006 to 2007.
• The “high” rating for neighborhood high schools increased by 6 percentage points from 2006-07.

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For information, call Communications Services, 303-982-6808.