OCSD high schools receive poor marks

September 15, 2012

By CARL SMITH
news@starkvilledailynews.com

Oktibbeha County School District received an overall D letter grade and an academic watch designation from the Mississippi Department of Education.

Both county high schools received an F letter grade from MDE, while East and West Oktibbeha County elementary schools fared better — a C and B letter grade, respectively.

Performance classifications given by MDE for the four schools were all different, but county high schools received the lowest designations while county elementary schools fared better. EOCHS received a failing designation, and WOCHS earning a low-performing rating. On the other end of the spectrum, WOCES was named a high-performing school by the state, and EOCES received a successful designation.

Three of the four schools — EOCES (136), WOCES (176) and WOCHS (101) — recorded Quality Distribution Index scores over 100, but EOCHS failed to break the century mark, earning a 94.

Growth targets were not met in both county high schools, and EOCHS’ 60.9 percent five-year graduation rate beat WOCHS’ 53.6 percent rate.
Accountability results are based on state scores from the Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 (MCT2) and the Subject Area Testing Program (SATP).
County schools Superintendent James Covington was out of town Friday, and a phone call placed to him was not returned by press time.