North County receives state recognition
North County Middle School and North County High School are listed among the state’s most-improved schools.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) prepared the report in March to list the top 10 schools that improved by moving students into the &#8220proficient and advanced levels” on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) from 2001 to 2005. Also listed on that list are Farmington Middle School and Central High School.
North County High School Principal Larry Kekec and Assistant Principal Jason Samples are very proud of their students and teachers. They said it was a district-wide effort to improve their communication arts scores.
&#8220It’s really a district celebration,” Kekec said.
They are hoping their students will do just as well this year. The school began testing last week and will continue this week.
To encourage the students, the school is having a MAP Blow-out day with games and activities for students who put forth the effort on the test. They aren’t graded on it, but, MAP testing is a major factor in the district’s accreditation. Those who did well on the MAP test last year participated in a MAP Rewards Day a few weeks ago.
Kekec said they appreciate that parents are making sure the students are well-rested and are eating right in the morning. He believes that makes a big difference.
Kekec said they hope to move from the most improved schools list to the top 10 performing schools list.
At the high school level, it was North County’s math scores that received recognition.
North County High School Principal Ron McCutchen said MAP scores at the high school are the highest they have ever been. He’s hoping the scores will continue to improve with MAP testing beginning there this week.
According to DESE, North County Middle School communication arts scores improved from 15.3 percent advanced or proficient to 26.2 percent, which is still below the state average. North County High School’s math scores improved from 8.5 percent advanced or proficient to 20.6 percent, which is above the current state average.
