News -> INDReporter TUE, SEP 25 11:45AM by Heather Miller

Northside hopes ‘duplicate scores’ will raise school’s standing

Lafayette’s poorest performing high school was labeled academically unacceptable in July when the state Department of Education said Northside fell six-tenths of a point shy of meeting the state’s minimum benchmark school performance score, but errors detected by the school’s staff have administrators hopeful that NHS’ new SPS will exceed the minimum score of 75 needed to be removed from the state’s list of academically unacceptable schools.

The Advocate reports that Northside High staff members have detected 19 duplicate scores that were used by LDOE to calculate Northside’s school performance score of 2011-2012 SPS of 74.4. Although the school is waiting for the final word from the state, the errors detected should raise Northside’s SPS by one-to-three points “or more,” says Northside Principal Melinda Voorhies.

Voorhies shared the news Monday with the civic and government groups that comprise the Lafayette Public Education Stakeholders Council, which toured Northside High’s campus and later endorsed the school’s official turnaround plan enacted in February under the direction of Superintendent Pat Cooper.

Read more from The Advocate here.

For more on Northside’s turnaround efforts, check out IND Monthly’s March 7 cover story, “Viking Pride,” and look for more on Northside’s innovative improvement measures in the October edition of IND Monthly, set to hit stands Oct. 1.

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written by Layne Darby St. Julien , September 25, 2012 - 02:49 pm

How many teachers and administrators were fired or re-assigned because this was a "failing school" in need of better personnel to improve? If it turns out this school was never actually "failing," but the DOE simply did a faulty job of adding up numbers, hasn't an injustice has been done to those teachers and administrators? Who'll step up and take responsibility? Don't hold your breath.

I trust all the other "failing schools" (as if a whole school failure is even possible, except in the dreams of ed "reformers") are also going over their numbers with a fine-tooth comb.

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