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Raymond-Knowles School Celebrates Success

By Michelle Townsend —

RAYMOND — Raymond-Knowles School is proud and has a lot of successes to celebrate. State test results have been published and are available to the public. In English Language Arts we received a status of low, missing a medium status report by a mere 1.1 points.

We received a significant increase with an improvement of +45.8 points on our change status.

In the area of Mathematics, we received a status of low, missing the mark for a medium status by 8.6 points; however, our change status was reported as increased significantly with an improvement of +35.3 points.

  • RKS English Language Arts scores are the fifth highest of all Madera County Elementary Schools (behind Sierra View, Rivergold, Mountain Home School, and Dairyland)
  • RKS Mathematics scores are eighth highest of Madera County Elementary Schools (behind Sierra View, Rivergold, Dairyland, Alview, Wasuma, Webster, and Sherman Thomas)
  • RKS had the highest improvement of all elementary schools in Madera County in both English Language Arts and Mathematics
  • RKS was ranked as “increased significantly” in all of our subgroups in both ELA and Math
  • In ELA, RKS socioeconomically disadvantaged students were second highest of all elementary schools in Madera County (behind Sierra View)

Raymond-Knowles School also compares favorably with all districts in the following regions: Kings, Tulare, Merced, Fresno, and Mariposa.

*The data above represents comparisons of 36 Madera County Elementary Schools. With the new Common Core State Standards comes the California School Dashboard. The California School Dashboard reports to the public how schools and school districts are performing in the areas of chronic absenteeism, suspension rate, English Learner Progress, English Language Arts, and Mathematics.

After a level status is assigned for academic performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics a school receives an additional score which indicates an increase or decrease in points between their 2015 and 2016 test scores. Once a school has received theses two identifiers the school is then assigned a performance color indicator.

It is an understatement to say we are proud of our students and teachers. RKS has been working tirelessly over the past decade to improve our status and become competitive within our mountain community. Raymond-Knowles has become a competitor that deserves to be noticed and recognized.

Our improved status does not come from competitive test scores alone. Raymond-Knowles School is committed to building well rounded individuals with more than academic knowledge alone. The staff and community are committed to developing caring and hardworking problem solvers, collaborators, innovators, and 21st-century learners.

We work towards our goal by providing 1:1 devices for students, Google Apps For Education, project-based learning, once a month student showcase events, rigorous 8th-grade graduation requirements, sponsoring charity events, and providing a loving family atmosphere for students, parents, and community.

It is important to understand that the test results are a snapshot of how children and schools performed on one test on one day. The majority of schools showed increases in change from the 2015 test to the 2016 test. It is this score that truly reflects the hard work that is going on in all schools every day.

Test data and accountability is important and necessary for teachers and administrators to look at to decipher what programs are working and where there may be some gaps to focus additional instruction.

The public should use caution when giving a school a “grade” based solely on the data from one measure. It is important to look at the good work that goes on in schools every day. There are thousands of teachers and educators who fearlessly and tirelessly show up to work to make a difference in the lives of students.

Mrs. Townsend is the Superintendent/Principal of Raymond-Knowles Union Elementary School

California School Dashboard

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