On December 19th, the Rhode Island Department of Education released school accountability results for 2018. This is the first set of results under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal education law first passed in late 2015 and the first time the state has identified new schools for improvement since 2014.  The new accountability system includes Star Ratings, School Report Cards, and areas for school improvement. In Smithfield, Anna McCabe Elementary School, Old County Road Elementary School, Gallagher Middle School, and Smithfield High School earned a 3-star rating while LaPerche Elementary School and Winsor Elementary School earned a 4-star rating.  

Achievement and growth data from RICAS and SAT testing, along with absenteeism, suspensions and graduation rate are used to determine categorical star ratings.  A school's overall star rating is the lowest categorical star rating received. Thus, a school may be successful in a variety of areas but be rated lower because of the rating in an individual category.  LaPerche Elementary, for example, earned 5 stars for attendance, achievement of subgroups, and growth, while missing the mark for overall achievement level for a RICA assessment.  Smithfield High School had 4- and 5-star ratings in some areas but its achievement and growth categories were rated 3-star. For this reason, those reviewing school ratings are encouraged to view the entire report card to see both areas of strength and areas needing improvement.  

The new school report cards provide a means of identifying specific areas for focusing school improvement efforts, a characteristic appreciated by school and district leaders who are leading efforts to continually improve the school experiences for the children of Smithfield.  Educators in Smithfield believe that the focus this year to improve writing will both improve achievement scores and, more importantly, serve students well in their lives after leaving K-12 education. At the same time, attending to attendance and graduation rates are essential for the overall quality of education in the town.

School report cards are available on the RIDE website and are linked to the district and school websites.  Below is a simplified version, providing categorical ratings for all Smithfield schools:

ELA & Math Achievement

ELA & Math Growth

Graduation Rate

Absenteeism Suspensions

Subgroup Performance

SHS

★★★

★★★★★

★★★★★

★★★★

GMS

★★★

  N/A

★★★★

★★★★★

McCabe

★★★

  N/A

★★★★★

★★★★

LaPerche

★★★★

★★★★★

  N/A

★★★★★

★★★★★

OCRS

★★★

  N/A

★★★★

★★★★

Winsor

★★★★

★★★★★

  N/A

★★★★

★★★★★