State releases school performance findings

The Wyoming Department of Education recently released their findings for school performance among high schools in the state, including Hot Springs County High School.

All schools in Wyoming receive a performance rating ranging from exceeding expectations to meeting expectations, partially meeting expectations or not meeting expectations.

Overall, Hot Springs County High School (HSCHS) is meeting expectations based on the seven indicators of achievement, growth, equity, English learner progress, extended graduation rte, post-secondary readiness and grade nine credits.

HSCHS is not graded on English learner progress or four-year, on-time graduation, which stands at 80.4%.

Growth is measured by student growth percentile in language arts and math for all students grades 9-11, measured by prior year Aspire tests to current year WY-TOPP and ACT scores.

HSCHS meets the target for growth.

They exceed the target for equity, which is the weighted mean student growth percentile with students who scored in the bottom 25% of students the prior year, weighted at 80% and the remaining students weighted at 20% for grades nine and ten.

In achievement, HSCHS is meeting the target for the percent of students proficient or above in English, math and science.

They also exceed the targets for the percentage of all ninth grade students earning one fourth of the credits needed to graduate.

Unfortunately, we are behind in two areas, extended graduation and post-secondary readiness.

Extended graduation is prior year extended graduation rates including the four year, on-time cohort plus all five, six and seven year graduates.

Post-secondary readiness is the percent of all prior year graduates demonstrating college or career readiness.

Both of those areas are lagged indicators.

Comparing HSCHS to other 2A schools like Wheatland and Greybull, we are fairly average in meeting expectations. Wheatland is exceeding in one indicator, meeting expectations in three and below expectations in two areas.

Greybull, another 2A school, is exceeding expectations in four of the seven indicators, meeting one and below expectations in two other areas.