Carroll County School District Superintendent Billy Joe Ferguson said he has nothing to complain about regarding school accountability ratings released by the state.
“We’re moving forward,” he said. “It’s hard to say anything bad when you’ve gone up a letter grade.”
Carroll County schools, rated D in 2016, attained a C rating this year.
Had the district been rated according to the new baseline assigned by the state, it would have earned a D, but Ferguson said he believes the schools are becoming more familiar with the state’s accountability requirements and are getting better at teaching the tests and taking the tests.
“For three years in a row, they changed our state tests,” Ferguson said. “It’s kind of unfair when teachers have to learn the new test to be able to teach it.
“Teachers take pride in their work, they get proficient at teaching one way, then they have to go back to step one. It keeps the anxiety level high.”
To maintain that C next year, Ferguson said, his schools will need to increase their performance scores, and he believes they are well equipped to do that.
“I think we are a little stronger than we were last year in the classroom,” he said.
One area that needs particular improvement, he said is sixth- and seventh-grade English and language arts scores.
“We have to put our effort into reading, in lower grades, all the way down to the youngest students,” he said. “Everything depends on that.”
Ferguson said Carroll County teachers are beginning to understand how to teach students to take the tests and are practicing things in the classroom that they know will be on the state exams.
“They’re learning to use the same language in the classroom that students will see on the test,” he said.
His struggles and the district’s are the same as many other districts — dealing with teacher turnover and attracting qualified teachers to a small rural district.
“It’s hard,” he said. “They’ve got to be really organized. When kids are not proficient, you’ve got to have ways to remediate those who need extra help.”
Ferguson said he celebrates going up a letter grade, the result of a team effort of teachers, administrators and students.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
