BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
The Union County School District has finished another year, and school scores, as are the state averages, are available to the schools. The official release of the school scores will be June 30, with the school rankings and grades unavailable until August.
The Union County scores showed a mixed bag of scores compared to last year’s results, with the biggest losses in grades eight and nine.
English
In English Language Arts, scored by the state as “reading,” grades three through 10 fluctuated from last year, but students in grades three, seven, and nine bested the state average. Grade three scored 64% of students reading at or above grade level, 11 percentage points up from last year’s figure of 53% and beating the state average by 9%. Grade seven showed the largest improvement, scoring 57% and coming back from last year’s figure of 39% and scoring 7% above the state average. Grade nine improved over last year by 11 percentage points, beating the state average by seven points. Grades four and six school scores stayed the same as last year and scored three and four points, respectively, lower than the state average. Grade eight improved by eight percentage points in 2024 to 47%, but it was not enough to beat the state average of 51%. Only two grade levels showed decreased scores – grades five and ten. Grade five scores dropped by 11 points, putting it 17 points below the state average, and grade 10 dropped two points, putting it four points below the state average.
Math
In math, improvement was seen in the third and seventh grades. Grade three scores improved by four points and exceeded the state average by 12. Grade seven improved by five points and beat the state average by 21 points. Grades four and five dropped by a single percentage point, putting them one and four points below the state average. Grade six was down three points from last year but scored four points higher than the state average. Grade eight was down 13 points from last year but beat the state average by four points.
Union County schools offer Algebra I in both the middle school (as an honors class) and the high school (usually taken by ninth or tenth graders). The middle school students’ average was eight percentage points lower than last year, at 86 points, but still greatly exceeded the state average of 41. The high school class also dropped below last year’s percentage by four points but also exceeded the state average by 15 percentage points. In high school geometry, the school score stayed the same, at 56, but exceeded the state average by five points. Trigonometry is also offered at UCHS but is not a state-tested subject.
Science
In science, fifth and eighth-grade scores were down from last year by four points for the fifth grade and nine points for the eighth grade, but both exceeded the state average. Fifth-grade students exceeded the state average in science by 20 points, while the eighth-graders exceeded it by 16 points. The school biology (tenth grade) score improved this past year, reaching 75 – an increase of 7 percentage points. Biology students also exceeded the state average by nine points.
Civics
In civics, the high school score improved by 17 points and was eight points above the state average. In U.S. history, the school score was up by three points, and the state average was beat by nine points.
Union County Superintendent of Schools Mike Ripplinger said he was pleased with the scores, especially how the district scores stacked against the state averages.
“We get the scores back from the state almost immediately,” Ripplinger said. “Under the old testing scheme, we had to wait months for them. Having these scores in hand allows us to have our boot camp for faculty earlier, identify the problem areas, and make improvement plans. We are already discussing plans to improve in the areas where scores were lower and identifying what works well in the higher-scoring areas. We will have to wait until August to see how we compare to other districts in the state.”
Outstanding student achievement
Ripplinger was happy to cite some outstanding student achievements from the past year.
“We had several students compete in the state science fair, and our baseball team went to the regional championship round,” he said. “The UCHS Band made an outstanding appearance at the state music assessment. Kendyl Brannen is the State FFA Champion in Creed Speaking and is attending the national competition. The Ag Sales Team is also a state champion and competing at the nationals (Ag Sales team members are Peyton Kilgore, Rebecca Langkou, Sierra Bell, Bailey Barnes, Sierra Mohl, and Gavin Kuhn). The Parliamentary Procedure Team placed second in the state, and the Ag Issues team placed third.”
Routine year, minimal turnover
Ripplinger said he felt that the 2023-34 school year was a routine one and said he, the school board, and all of the faculty and staff were looking forward to another great year beginning soon. At the end of qualifying for the upcoming election, he said that none of the board members who were up for re-election had opposition, and neither did he, so there are no changes there. He also said he was pleased to report minimal turnover in faculty and staff this year, with only one or two openings at each school for new teachers and staff. He said there would be a new face in the principal’s chair at the elementary school – Michelle Fuist will be assuming the position on July 1, 2024, coming to the district from Orange County. Principal Emily Mecusker will be changing positions and responsibilities within the district.
‘This will be a good year coming up,” Ripplinger said. “There will be fewer new faces in the coming year, which lends us more continuity in our programs. We ended the past year in a flurry, as always, but we now have the tools to plan and prepare better ways of doing things, and since the legislature met earlier than usual this year, we will have an idea of what funding we have to work with much sooner. Next school year will be one where we can hit the ground running and provide our students with the best education possible. That’s why we are here.”
