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Water Valley School District Earns C Rating

By David Howell

Editor


JACKSON – The Water Valley School District will remain a C-rated district on Mississippi’s A-F accountability system that evaluates how schools and districts performed during the 2017-18 school year. Davidson Elementary School (K-6 grades) was also rated a C school while Water Valley High School (7-12 grades) dropped to a D, according to the ratings released last Thursday by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE).

This marks the fourth year Davidson Elementary School (DES) and the district received a C rating, while the high school’s drop also comes after three consecutive years of a C rating. 

Superintendent Dr. Michael McInnis said the overall score for the district increased from 552 points to 565, an increase of 13 points for the district. The score at DES also increased, growing from 342 to 362.

“It wasn’t quite enough to get to a B, but we are headed in the right direction,” McInnis added.

“I was disappointed to see the drop at the high school,” the superintendent said about the 11-point drop that bumped the rating down a letter grade. “We did anticipate it coming, through different diagnostics. We have already put things in motion to change it for this year and improve.”

The annual accountability rating is based on points for growth and overall performance on statewide tests, as well as the graduation rate. Elementary and middle schools are graded on a 700-point scale, which high schools are graded on a 1,000-point scale. Water Valley High School had an 83.54 percent graduation rate, up from 80.4 percent from the previous year. 

The high school received high marks on the High School Career and College Readiness component ranking for the 2017-2018 accountability year. This component represents the percentage of graduating seniors who have met ACT benchmarks in English/reading, and math and are considered “ready” for college or the workforce. Water Valley High School outperformed 81 percent of the schools in the state, with 49 percent readiness.

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