Nodaway Valley report card results mixed

Editor’s Note: This is the second of two stories highlighting the results of the Iowa School Performance Profiles at Nodaway Valley and Orient-Macksburg.

Nodaway Valley Schools received a report card from the state recently known as The Iowa School Performance Profiles. It is an online tool showing how public schools performed on required measures.

The results of this performance profile give staff a look into what is going well and what needs improvement.

NVHS falls into the ‘Acceptable’ category, scoring a 51.43 out of 100 — below the state average of 54.81. The school received a targeted status on a the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) performance category and are in year one of targeted status.

“I would say the Iowa School Performance Profile indicates that at the high school, we need to continue our work on social-emotional learning and building positive and healthy relationships among students and staff,” NVHS Principal Gerry Miller said. “We also will continue our work on inclusive practices in the mainstream classroom to enhance all learners’ abilities to learn all things, especially in the areas of literacy and math.”

While the elementary building’s score decreased from 62 to 57.42, its total still fell within the ‘Commendale’ category. A Conditions of Learning survey that plays into the overall score came in a little lower than last year, which Principal James Larson thinks played into the overall score being lower.

Literacy needs to be an area of improvement, based on the results, Larson said, though there was a slight increase in scores seen last year.

“The state average is 54.81, so we are above the average,” Larson said. “We obviously want this to be higher, but at the same time, this score reflects the Conditions of Learning Survey and ISASP scores, which account for a couple weeks of the year.”

The Nodaway Valley middle school building had the highest total of all three buildings at 61.54. Its best areas were growth and proficiency in math and English.