Hudson Shows Improvement on Iowa Report Card

Late last week the Iowa Department of Education released the results of the 2016 Iowa School Report Card. This web-based tool is designed to give Iowans a snapshot of how each attendance center is performing based on a number of required measures. Because this report card is attendance center dependent, Hudson Schools receives a rating for both the K-6 and 7-12 attendance center (elementary and secondary). Schools are ranked in one of six categories ranging from: Priority, Needs Improvement, Acceptable, Commendable, High Performing, or Exceptional. 

I am proud to share with you that our K-6 (elementary) scored in the Commendable level. Not only that they improved 4.4 points, moving from 64.7-69.1! (*Note: points in these rankings should not be confused with percentages. This is merely the scale used.) All the metrics and variables in this category were an improvement over last year. Yet perhaps most significant is the improvement in our free and reduced lunch population. (See graphic to the right.) Further, overall proficiency in both math and reading grew significantly helping the overall score. This is no fluke mind you, this is a result of hard work, attention to detail, and a committed effort on the part of our teachers, parents, and students alike. You may recall just a few short weeks ago the discussion we had in this very blog about effect size. These results further validate the work of our teacher leadership system and the robust professional development plan that we have in place.

Our secondary attendance center also showed improvement over last year, growing from 72.4 points to 74 points (*again please note this is not a percentage). In this case, the building is ranked in the High Performing level, which ranks it in the top 9% of schools in the state to reach this category. Obviously one of our most impressive metrics here has to be the 100% graduation rate, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the 97.8% math proficiency of the 10th grade class! Once again, this can be attributed to the hard work of everyone involved in ensuring that our students have access to high quality instruction that is tightly aligned to the Iowa Core Academic Standards. Teachers are working in collaboration to review, offer suggestions, and insights into units of instruction that are shared in a system of peer review know as Authentic Intellectual Work or AIW. This year we have elevated the level of expectation from our teachers by asking them to record themselves delivering instruction and then sharing that instruction with colleagues for critique. There must be no mistake this level of feedback has strengthened instruction which, as evidenced above has had a positive  impact on student outcomes!

If you have questions about the Iowa School Report card or about the progress of your child in school please feel free to contact us. You can view the Iowa School Report card by clicking right here. Simply type 'Hudson' into the search box to view our results. I would also invite you to take a look at the category at the bottom of the ranking titled 'Parent Involvement Teacher Survey Results'. In the future this category will be used to help rank each school.