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Polk County Schools posts report cards; board member urges focus on student growth
Summary
Polk County Schools posted district and individual school report cards on Feb. 10. Board members noted mixed letter grades across the district and urged attention to growth measures rather than one-day proficiency tests.
Polk County Schools publicly posted its latest district and individual school report cards at the board’s Feb. 10 meeting, and trustees discussed how to interpret the results.
Angela Duffard, who presented the report-card overview, pointed the board to tables on the district website showing letter grades, growth status and student counts. Duffard said Early College earned an A, several schools received C grades and Saluda received a B.
A board member responding to the presentation criticized the way state testing and reporting are framed and urged the district to emphasize long-term growth. "That's not our testing system in this state," the member said. "...it depends on how everybody else did." The member said the board and leadership are meeting with principals and that schools have plans aimed at continuous improvement.
Duffard and trustees noted the report cards include both proficiency and growth indicators and that the district will continue to work with schools to understand drivers of the results and to communicate that information publicly. The presenter said the district maintains school-specific report cards on its website and that residents can use the online tables and charts to dig into historical marks and growth trends.
Board members encouraged staff to follow up with principals on school improvement plans and to answer questions from the public about the posted data. The district’s next steps, as described at the meeting, are ongoing engagement with principals and continued public communication of progress and planned interventions.
