The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) released the At-A-Glance School
and District Profiles for the 2020-21 school year last month. The profiles
included graduation data along with student and teacher data.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the profiles released last year
and this year do not include all of the data found on the previous versions,
with assessment data being reported separately due to lost participation rates
and attendance data also expected in a seperate report.

“The information provided in this year’s at-a-glance is very limited, but the
bullet points about our programs and opportunities for parent engagement are
useful take-aways,” Welches Schools Principal Kendra Payne wrote in an email
to The Mountain Times, while noting the Oregon Trail School District opted out
of the state assessments year but will participate next spring.

Despite the lack of state assessment data, Payne wrote that teachers have
continued to use formative assessments in classrooms to determine whether
students understand the content and are ready to move forward. Teachers
also use other methods for gathering data around student learning, she

added, including Acadience, a screener that helps determine whether
elementary students need small group support.

“We also use a standards-based assessment called iReady that helps teachers
plan for reading and math instruction,” Payne wrote. “These assessments
have been utilized consistently over the past two years, and continue to give
teachers meaningful data about their students.”

Payne cited the district’s focus on meeting individual student’s needs as the
district’s biggest strength, while the Welches Schools’ biggest strength is in
building relationships with students and families.

“Our strength is in our community, and that will help us serve the increased
needs of our students,” she noted.

Payne added that a variety of programs have been expanded and refined to
help improve student achievement in the past two years, including refining
the Response to Instruction & Intervention system to make data-based
decisions about student supports at the elementary level and revamped
electives and the advisory program at the middle school level.

“Our knowledge of our reading programs has grown through practice applying
them in virtual and in-person settings,” she noted. “We will continue to refine
our instructional practices to maximize student growth.”

To view the ODE At-A-Glance School and District Profiles for the 2020-21
school year, visit https://www.ode.state.or.us.