By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Reporter

The Alabama State Department of Education has released its report card letter grades for each school system in the state, and Shelby County Schools fared well in the latest report detailing the 2016-17 school year statistics.

Shelby County Schools was given an overall letter grade of a “B” with a score of 88 points based on a number of accountability indicators.

The following accountability indicators were provided in the report card:

–Academic achievement

–Academic growth

–Graduation rate

–College and career readiness

–Chronic absenteeism

The letter grade is calculated for each school system based on a percent of scores from these five factors. Academic achievement accounts for 20 percent, academic growth and graduation rate accounts for 30 percent each and college and career readiness and chronic absenteeism make up the final 20 percent.

For Shelby County Schools, a grade of 75.11 was given for academic achievement, based on students proficiency in the areas of reading and math, a graduation rate of 93, a score of 95.60 in academic growth, which measures individual students improvements in reading and math from one year to the next, a 79 in college and career readiness and a 14.85 in chronic absenteeism.

Out of 137 school districts, Shelby County Schools is ranked 14th on the list. Shelby County is also the highest-ranking county district, along with being the highest ranked district of its size with an enrollment of 20,625 students, according to a release from the school district.

For the 2017 report card calculations, a new measurement of chronic absenteeism was added for all grade levels. For high schools, academic growth and college and career readiness were also added, with dropout students now included in the measurement of college and career readiness. The state defined chronic absenteeism “as any student who misses 15 days or more of school,” which included both excused and unexcused absences.

“Chronic absenteeism has been determined to be an area of focus,” Shelby County Schools Superintendent Randy Fuller said in a release. “This category was not originally a part of the accountability measure, and it was a surprise to learn that excused absences counted against the district the same as unexcused absences. This is an area where the district will partner with parents to address the issue.”

Fuller said the district’s focus on continuous improvement will continue to help all schools in Shelby County make data-driven decisions that benefit instruction and student achievement.

“Shelby County Schools has a mantra of continuous improvement,” Fuller said. “The district will continue practices that have been proven effective, and will embrace any focus areas in order to continue providing a quality education for all students.”

For the past 12 years, Shelby County Schools has utilized a practice of Continuous School Improvement (CSI) in each school. Each year an assessment is made of their performance and goals are set for each individual school. School leadership teams then develop strategies to accomplish these goals. Data is collected from many sources to give a comprehensive view of student and school performance. Interim assessments conducted at specific times during the school year give teachers a periodic view of their students’ progress.

“While standardized test scores and state-mandated indicators provide important information, it only gives us a snapshot of student and school performance,” Fuller said. “Shelby County Schools look at year-to-year improvement in all categories. We also maintain a list of success indicators along with other measures which help to guide us in preparing our students for their journey to be college ready, career ready, and most important, life ready.”

When it came to grading individual schools, the scores were determined differently based on grade levels. Schools which only house grades K-2 did not receive a score because state assessments are given to students in third through eighth grades and to students in tenth grade.

Calera Elementary School, Helena Elementary School and the Linda Nolen Learning Center did not receive grades.

At the elementary, intermediate and middle school levels, scores were based 50 percent on academic growth, 40 percent on academic achievement and 10 percent on chronic absenteeism.

Calera Intermediate School earned an overall grade of 78, with scores of 83.88 in academic growth, 68.87 in academic achievement and 11.47 in chronic absenteeism.

Calera Middle School earned an overall grade of 80, with scores of 90.95 in academic growth, 64.59 in academic achievement and 13.74 in chronic absenteeism.

Chelsea Park Elementary School earned an overall grade of 91, with scores of 95.74 in academic growth, 85.96 in academic achievement and 11.91 in chronic absenteeism.

Chelsea Middle School earned an overall grade of 88, with scores of 94.77 in academic growth, 80.79 in academic achievement and 15.38 in chronic absenteeism.

Columbiana Middle School earned an overall grade of 78, with scores of 88.67 in academic growth, 64.09 in academic achievement and 20.51 in chronic absenteeism.

Elvin Hill Elementary School earned an overall grade of 77, with scores of 85.38 in academic growth, 65.94 in academic achievement and 17.20 in chronic absenteeism.

Forest Oaks Elementary School earned an overall grade of 90, with scores of 98.12 in academic growth, 81.40 in academic achievement and 11.88 in chronic absenteeism.

Helena Intermediate School earned an overall grade of 90, with scores of 95.59 in academic growth, 83.04 in academic achievement and 8.07 in chronic absenteeism.

Helena Middle School earned an overall grade of 88, with scores of 96.51 in academic growth, 78.92 in academic achievement and 14.52 in chronic absenteeism.

Inverness Elementary School earned an overall grade of 84, with scores of 82.33 in academic achievement and 5.85 in chronic absenteeism.

Montevallo Elementary School earned an overall grade of 86, with scores of 98.30 in academic growth, 72.02 in academic achievement and 15.25 in chronic absenteeism.

Montevallo Middle School earned an overall grade of 82, with scores of 90.68 in academic growth, 70.01 in academic achievement and 17.80 in chronic absenteeism.

Mt Laurel Elementary School earned an overall grade of 97, with scores of 99.47 in academic growth, 94.50 in academic achievement and 8.25 in chronic absenteeism.

Oak Mountain Elementary School earned an overall grade of 89, with scores of 88.81 in academic achievement and 7.87 in chronic absenteeism.

Oak Mountain Intermediate School earned an overall grade of 95, with scores of 99.04 in academic growth, 89.10 in academic achievement and 4.38 in chronic absenteeism.

Oak Mountain Middle School earned an overall grade of 94, with scores of 100 in academic growth, 88 in academic achievement and 8.42 in chronic absenteeism.

Shelby Elementary School earned an overall grade of 84, with scores of 89.35 in academic growth, 77.82 in academic achievement and 22.80 in chronic absenteeism.

Vincent Elementary School earned an overall grade of 82, with scores of 88.74 in academic growth, 71.77 in academic achievement and 15.44 in chronic absenteeism.

Wilsonville Elementary School earned an overall grade of 79, with scores of 75 in academic growth, 84.23 in academic achievement and 25.53 in chronic absenteeism.

At the high school level, scores were based 30 percent on academic growth, 30 percent on graduation rate, 20 percent on academic achievement, 10 percent on college and career readiness and 10 percent on chronic absenteeism.

Calera High School earned an overall grade of 82, with scores of 41.46 in academic achievement, 98.82 in academic growth, 93.80 in graduation rate, 73 in college and career readiness and 18.27 in chronic absenteeism.

Chelsea High School earned an overall grade of 84, with scores of 51.52 in academic achievement, 96.44 in academic growth, 95.20 in graduation rate, 86 in college and career readiness and 21.61 in chronic absenteeism.

Helena High School earned an overall grade of 87, with scores of 57.25 in academic achievement, 100 in academic growth, 95.40 in graduation rate, 86 in college and career readiness and 17.59 in chronic absenteeism.

Montevallo High School earned an overall grade of 74, with scores of 33.58 in academic achievement, 85.83 in academic growth, 91.80 in graduation rate, 64 in college and career readiness and 28.97 in chronic absenteeism.

Oak Mountain High School earned an overall grade of 90, with scores of 73.09 in academic achievement, 100 in academic growth, 95.20 in graduation rate, 88 in college and career readiness and 15.28 in chronic absenteeism.

Shelby County High School earned an overall grade of 74, with scores of 39.52 in academic achievement, 87.08 in academic growth, 83.60 in graduation rate, 69 in college and career readiness and 23.30 in chronic absenteeism.

Vincent Middle High School earned an overall grade of 78, with scores of 53.78 in academic achievement, 88.49 in academic growth, 89 in graduation rate, 66 in college and career readiness and 26.82 in chronic absenteeism.

To view the full report, visit http://ap.alsde.edu/accountability/EducationReportCard/selectschool.