Release of a new district-by-district report card is creating a lot of attention throughout the state, but R-II and R-III school leaders say the ratings for their respective programs are not a surprise, in each case validating the direction in which they are leading their schools.Issued by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the rating system called MSIP 5 (for Missouri School Improvement Program) is the new edition of the state’s scoring system that is used for accreditation.It also is a diagnostic tool for helping schools improve in key areas and for comparing their performance to other districts.Both Wright City R-II and Warren County R-III performed within the state’s standards for accreditation. The scores are based on end-of-school-year data for 2012-2013.Based on student test scores and other data, MSIP assigns a point level maximum for five areas, allowing schools to earn points by how well they performed in each: academic achievement (maximum 56 points), at-risk populations or subgroup achievement (maximum 14 points), college and career readiness (maximum 30 points), attendance (maximum 10 points) and graduation (possible 30 points). Total points that can be achieved are 140.Wright City R-IIWright City R-II earned 91.1 percent under the MSIP evaluation, taking all 56 possible points under academic achievement, 13.5 out of 14 possible points for subgroup achievement, 22 out of 30 points for college and career readiness, six out of 10 points for attendance, and all 30 points for graduation.The scores are among the highest in the surrounding area.“This is the second year in a row we’ve been above 90 percent,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. David Buck, who noted this also was the district’s second year in a row to earn distinction in performance (scores above 90 percent).“A few years ago, we were under-performing and getting attention from state officials,” Buck said in a statement posted on the district’s website.“After an exhaustive needs analysis, our faculty and staff — with input from our community advisory team — put together an academic plan we know as PAWS,” he said. “The plan was built around engaging students, taking data to action, and increasing rigor in curriculum, instruction and assessment.”Buck said the district has gone from having 1 of 22 tested areas above state average in 2010 to 17 of 22 above state average in 2013.Since 2010, Wright City R-II is one of the most improved school districts in Missouri. Out of 522 districts in the state, R-II has gone from a 499 test score ranking in 2010 to 156 in 2013.Warren County R-IIIWarren County R-III scores were comparatively lower, earning an overall 76.8 percent of possible points.In academic achievement, the district earned 41 out of 56 possible points, and 11 out of 14 points for subgroup achievement.For college and career readiness, 19.5 out of 30 points were achieved, while attendance points were 6 out of 10. The school earned 30 out of 30 points in graduation.“MSIP 5 focuses on growth, and our district has remained flat in these performance areas,” said R-III Superintendent Dr. Jim Chandler, who took the helm at the beginning of the new fiscal year in June.Chandler is putting new emphasis on attendance as a foundation for improvement, noting that if kids aren’t in school, they are not learning.“We really need the community’s support in getting students to class every day,” he said. “The school is doing its part in developing incentives largely directed to high school students and seniors in particular.”Another focus for the district is improving achievement among students performing at “below basic” level.“We want our kids to achieve at higher levels,” said Chandler.Chandler points to other areas he believes will improve student performance, including the district’s new Middle School Concept, a model implemented this year that offers better age-appropriate support than the traditional junior high school structure, and allows teachers more time and tools for trouble-shooting.The elementary schools also are entering their second year of Singapore Math, an instruction that focuses on understanding math concepts, and students have now settled in after the school’s restructuring last year which redistributed students among the district’s three elementary schools.Local Schools' Test Scores Released