The county’s report card from the state showed improvements in proficiency levels in most areas for the 2007-08 school year. The annual report from the state shows how the counties are faring economically and educationally.

Achievement grades for grades K-8 held their own overall, remaining at a “B” for math, reading/language arts, and science and a C for Social Studies. Writing scores overall for grades 5 and 8 were an “A,” and remained at a B for 11th grade. The high schools showed the greatest improvement, with higher scores in most gateway and end-of-course tests.

K-8 overall

In grades K-8, the best scores overall were in Reading/Language Arts: 3rd grade, 91.4% proficient or advanced; 4th, 90.2%; 5th, 97.1%; 6th, 96.5%; 7th, 91.8%; 8th, 97.5%. For all students in grades 3 through 8, 94% were proficient or advanced in reading/language arts, compared to 88.8% last year.

The subject with the lowest number of students scoring “proficient or advanced” was Social Studies: grade 3, 70.4%; grade 4, 82.78%; grade 5, 85.2%; grade 6, 82.5%; grade 7, 78.6%; grade 8, 72.2%. For all students in grades 3 through 8, 78.8% were proficient or advanced in Social Studies, up from 75.6 last year.

For math, 90.7%% overall were proficient or advanced, up from 88% last year. By grade: 3rd, 87.3%; 4th, 91.1%; 5th, 94.7%; 6th, 92.5%; 7th, 89.5%; 8th, 88.9%.

For science, 82.5% of students in grades 3 through 8 had scores that were proficient or advanced, down from 83.3. By grade: 3rd, 79.5%; 4th, 78.7%; 5th, 92.3%; 6th, 85%; 7th, 80.5%; 8th, 79.3%.

In the writing test, 82% of elementary students scored proficient or advanced, up a little from 81.7.

 The elementary attendance rate overall was 95%, up from last year’s 94.3%. The state goal is 93%. The promotion rate was 98.1%, down a little from 98.5%, with the state goal being 97%.

High Schools overall

In the high schools, Gateway tests are used as indicators of achievement and are a requirement for graduation. All students are required to take the tests, including special education. The best performance countywide was in Biology, with 97.6% being proficient or advanced, about the same as last year’s 97.8%. In English 2, 98.4% were proficient or advanced, up from 96.5% the previous year. In Algebra I, the combined percentage was 80.5%, up from 70% the year before. Writing tests earned a “B” from the state, the same as last year, with 76.6% of students scoring proficient or advanced.

For high school end-of-course tests, 90.8% were proficient or advanced in Math Foundations, a jump from last yar’s 77%; English 1: 96.8% were proficient or advanced, with compared to 96.7% last year; Physical Science: 95.7% were proficient or advanced, up from 89.7; U.S. History: 96.9%, down a little from 97.7.

The high school attendance rate was 93.4%, up from 93% last year. The state goal is 93%.

The graduation percent was 82.4%. This is a federally required benchmark which calculates the percent of on-time graduates with a regular high school diploma. GED and Special Education diplomas are not allowed to count as a regular high school diploma under regulations from the U.S. Department of Education. The dropout rate (the number of students entering 9th grade who did not complete the four years) was 4.6%, down from 9.4%.

Demographics

Per-pupil spending in the county last year was $7,536, up from $7,177 the previous year. The state average is $8,345. Area counties: Bradley, $6,826; Meigs, $7,422; McMinn, $7,147; Monroe, $7,411. The percent of local funding was 20.5%, compared to 32.2% in Bradley, 15.8% in Meigs, 29.7% in McMinn and 39.2% in Monroe. In Polk County, the state picked up 67.8% of the cost of education, up from 64.1% the year before (it’s 47.8% average statewide) and federal programs provided 11.8% locally, down from 12.4% locally. Statewide, federal funding provides 10.9% of the cost of education.

In Polk County last year, 93.6% of the core classes were taught by teachers who have met the designation “highly qualified.” Last year, 94.7% of the core classes were taught by teachers with this designation.

Around two-thirds of the students in the county -- 62.5% -- are eligible for free and reduced lunch, so they fall in the category of economically disadvantaged. Last year, 66.1% qualified.

The county last year had 2,646 students, 188 teachers and 11 administrators. There were three teacher waivers.  There were four students with limited English proficiency, 346 students with disabilities, 1,450 students (52.8%)  in Title 1 programs (federally funded programs in high poverty schools that target children with low achievement.) The student body is overwhelmingly white – 98.2%. There were 66 suspensions and no expulsions reported.

(Next: profiles by school)