Reports cards are out, and five of Barrington's six public schools earned "commended" status.
The Rhode Island Department of Education 2017 School Report Cards were issued on Thursday — a total of 28 schools across the state were recognized as commended, which means they are the highest performing public schools in Rhode Island.
Barrington High School, Barrington Middle School, Hampden Meadows School, Nayatt Elementary and Sowams Elementary all earned commended status. It was also the third straight year the middle school was recognized as a commended school.
Barrington High School and Nayatt Elementary both received a perfect score of 100 on the RIDE composite index.
"As a community we should celebrate the accomplishments of our educational staff and students," said Barrington Schools Superintendent Michael Messore. "It is impressive that five of our six schools received commended status based on the state's established criteria."
The Rhode Island Department of Education builds composite scores by using two measures — student proficiency in English language arts and mathematics, and performance gaps for English language arts and mathematics. There is a third measure that differs by grade level: at the elementary and middle school levels, officials use student growth in English language arts and math, while the graduation rate is at the high school level.
"This round of classifications represents a transition for schools, however, as Rhode Island awaits approval of its ESSA State Plan submitted in September. Under ESSA, the statewide accountability system is expanding to include additional performance and school climate measures, including chronic absenteeism and suspension rates," stated a press release from RIDE.
Rhode Island is shifting to a new system of student assessments this year. This spring, students will be assessed using the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) in grades 3 through 8, the PSAT in grade 10, and the SAT in grade 11.
“I want to congratulate our 28 commended schools," said Ken Wagner, the commissioner of education, "whose performance, growth, and commitment to excellence represent the success we want to replicate in every school, for every student.
"We now look ahead to implementation of a new system of school accountability, which I believe will help us to better identify and support struggling schools, and to communicate with families about what performance outcomes and school culture and climate indicators mean for their children and for their communities.”
While Primrose Hill Elementary did not achieve commended status on the recent RIDE report cards, local school officials said all six of Barrington's public schools achieved an average scaled score of 750 or greater on the PARCC assessments. That means all six of Barrington's public schools scored at or above the proficient mark.
Rhode Island's commended schools:
Barrington
Nayatt Elementary School
Hampden Meadows School
Barrington Middle School**
Barrington High School
Sowams Elementary School
Bristol Warren
Rockwell School**
Chariho
Richmond Elementary School
Hope Valley Elementary School**
Chariho Regional High School
Charlestown Elementary School
Coventry
Western Coventry School
Cranston
Orchard Farms Elementary School
Cumberland
Community School
East Greenwich
Archie R. Cole Middle School**
East Greenwich High School
Jamestown
Jamestown School – Melrose**
Jamestown School – Lawn
Johnston
Brown Avenue School**
North Kingstown
Wickford Middle School
Hamilton Elementary School
North Smithfield
North Smithfield High School
Providence
Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy
Classical High School
Saunderstown
Kingston Hill Academy
Scituate
Clayville Elementary School
South Kingstown
Peace Dale Elementary School**
The Compass School
Tiverton
Fort Barton School**
** School was recognized as commended in 2015, 2016, and 2017