EOC scores & grades discrepancy at Willow Springs

The Willow Springs R-IV Board of Education heard about a major difference between End of Course (EOC) scores and student grades at their September meeting. The board also heard about enrollment updates from all buildings and adopted a usage plan for drones during football games.

 

High School Principal Nick Schmitt told the school board about the EOC score and grade discrepancy. EOC tests are taken in the spring and the results are received in the fall. Over 60 percent of those students who tested at basic or below basic on the EOC scores were A and B students and some of the lower graded students tested higher in EOC.

 

The end of course tests are graded as advanced, proficient, basic, and below basic. These tests cover Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Biology, English 2, and American Government.

 

Schmitt told the board that 25 percent of the students that scored at basic or below basic had an A or A- in their class and 41 percent of the students that scored at or below basic had some kind of a B in their class. He also said that there was a percentage of students that had low Cs, Ds, or Fs in the class that scored at advanced or proficient.

 

Extra credit, effort grades, and similar bonus points could be part of this discrepancy, according to Schmitt. It was also noted that this could be due to some of the students who don't do homework and have a lower grade but know the material and the inverse.

 

“So, somewhere, we're not getting something the way it should be. Making it fair,” Schmitt said to the board. “We need to look at our grading practices and the way we're accessing students. Are they measuring things accurately? Are they accurately measuring what students know? And if they're not, we need to look at doing some things differently.”

 

During the building updates, the board heard an update on enrollment. The board heard from Superintendent Marty Spence that enrollment has been in decline over the last few years. He mentioned he thought it could be largely due to lower enrollment in the middle and elementary schools. This was supported by the reports from those buildings. According to the elementary school enrollment report, 102 students graduated fourth grade and left for fifth grade at the end of the 2023-2024 year and only 64 kindergartners joined the school this fall -- a 38 pupil deficit. August did see 36 new enrollments for the building. The middle school had 89 students leave following the eighth-grade promotion and the fall saw 94 students entering fifth grade. The high school saw little change with 378 enrolled in May and 377 enrolled now. 

 

The board agreed to adopt a drone usage plan for football games. Matt Knapp presented his suggested plan to the board on the concern of other schools using their drones during football games and whether the district would be liable if another district's drones injured someone. Under the adopted plan, each team can only have one drone in operation at a time. Each drone operation crew should be comprised of at least two people, with one being a FAA licensed drone pilot and one dedicated visual observer, and each member of the drone operation crew needs to wear high-visibility vests. Drone operation can only be performed in designated areas and drones will need to remain at least 25 feet away from each other. In the case of football games, it was suggested by Knapp that the drones stay their team's end of the football field but, it should be fine if the minimum distance is of 25 ft. is kept.