Idaho’s new list of school rankings came out Thursday afternoon. The number of schools receiving the highest rating, five stars, increased from the 2011-2012 school year to the 2012-2013 year. The number of one star schools declined. Nearly 160 schools went up at least one star. The highest concentration of schools continues to be in the four star category.
The five star system was implemented last year and stars are meant to be updated annually. However, this set of rankings will remain in place for the next two years. That's because of changes in testing that come with the move to Common Core standards this fall. So one and two star schools will remain under intense state scrutiny for two years before they will be able to demonstrate improvement.
The ratings are based on growth and overall performance in the state’s standardized tests. High schools are also judged on other factors including graduation rates and students in advanced classes.
In addition to the stars each school gets a score out of 100. Here are all the schools that got a perfect score.
- Oneida (Alt) High School, Oneida County District
- Paradise Creek Regional Alt, Moscow District
- Valley View Alternative High, Sugar-Salem District
- Silver Creek High School, Blaine County District
- Vallivue Academy (Alt), Vallivue School District
This morning we profiled one of last year’s one star schools. Boise’s Hawthorne Elementary went up to four stars in today's list.
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