The Alabama Department of Education released the 2018-19 school accountability reports and Tallassee City Schools scored higher than past years.
Across the board, TCS climbed to an 81 which is up from a 76 for 2017-18.
Not only did the school system's grade increase, all three schools displayed continued advancements in the annual report.
Tallassee Elementary School scored the highest with an 84 which is a four-point increase. Southside Middle School scored two points higher this year with a 78, which is up considerably from a score of 65 just two years ago. Tallassee High School scored a 75, which was also an improvement of two points from last year's grade.
There are many factors that go into calculating a school's accountability report, and it's not just letter grades.
According to the Alabama Department of Education, schools that do not have a 12th grade such as SMS and TES test results account for 90% of the overall grade. Fifty percent of that grade coming from calculating improvements from year-to-year while the number of students who come near to or reach proficiency accounts for 40% of the school's assessment grade. The remaining 10% of the assessment is derived from student attendance. The number of students who miss 15 days or more of school, whether excused or unexcused, is factored into a school's assessment score.
The grading system for high school is different. In districts and schools with a 12th grade, overall improvement amounts to 20% of the assessment. The number of students to reach proficiency accounts for 30% of the assessment. The school's graduation rate accounts for 30% of the school's assessment and college and career prep and student absenteeism both count for 10% of a school's overall grade.
Chronic absenteeism was 18.2% at TES, 16.32% at SMS, and 15.43% at THS.
Tallassee City Schools is continually combatting chronic absenteeism with incentive programs for students. At THS, students with perfect attendance have the chance to have their names drawn for prizes.
Alabama's Accountability Report is released annually in compliance with federal and state laws. Alabama's Accountability System complies with Alabama Act 2012-402 by assigning letter grades to schools, systems, and the state. It also complies with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by providing meaningful differentiation among Alabama schools, according to the ALSDE.
