A student-performance report from Treasure Valley schools shows stagnant growth in 11 indicators, ranging from school readiness to obtaining a post-secondary degree.
The Treasure Valley Education Partnership (TVEP) released its “Report to the Community” Wednesday, and most numbers were disappointing.
“We have a lot of work to do,” said TVEP chairman Rich Raimondi, president at Bishop Kelly High School. “We first want to be open and transparent about our baseline. I think we will see (increases) in the next couple of years.”
TVEP organized three years ago and includes Bishop Kelly and nine area districts: Boise, Caldwell, Emmett, Kuna, Middleton, Mountain Home, Nampa, Vallivue and West Ada.
The second annual report used the most current available data from the districts. The data will be monitored and measured every year.
The report’s key findings:
- There has been no increase in the percentages of students who are ready to learn to read when they enter kindergarten.
- SAT results reveal that only one-third of Treasure Valley juniors are ready for college.
- The demand for a college-educated work force has outpaced the number of students who go on to complete some form of postsecondary education.
“It’s important the community knows where we are at,” said Raimondi, a former Hewlett-Packard executive. “I’ve found that what you measure, gets done.”
In one sobering finding, only 29 percent of 2007 high school graduates had obtained a postsecondary degree within six years. This represents a slight increase from the class of 2005′s 25 percent rate.
“Everybody took a big gulp when we saw that,” Raimondi said. Click here to continue reading this story from Idaho Education News.