Eldon R-1 School District MSIP

ELDON, Mo. - A leap in academic achievement merited the Eldon R-1 School District a modest improvement in overall Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) scores.

The district earned 129 of 140 points possible - 92.1 percent, up just slightly from 91.8 percent in 2013 - according to the 2014 annual performance report.

"Our district is always looking to improve. We are happy that we scored above 90 percent on the APR for the second year in a row," said Eldon R-1 Superintendent Matt Davis. "We believe that when you compare our student achievement with our student demographics we have a very high-scoring school district."

The biggest change in Eldon R-1's scores was in academic achievement, the most weighted category. The district earned 98.2 percent of academic achievement points possible, up from last year's 94.6 percent.

"We continue to focus on literacy in our high school and middle school," Davis said. "We believe that focus will continue to help us improve our academic performance."

MSIP 5 scores school districts' subject-specific academic achievement based on the status and progress demonstrated by students' Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, test scores in English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies - specifically, the percentage of students who scored "advanced" or "proficient" rather than "basic" or "below basic."

While Eldon R-1's percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced has declined in all subjects since 2012, the district did see significant gains last year in social studies and science scores, keeping the district's three-year progress on the upswing in those subjects. The level of proficiency dropped in English language arts to 55 percent from 59.3 percent in 2012, and in mathematics to 51.8 percent from 57.4 percent in 2012.

College and career readiness, a main focus for the district, remained at a steady high "B' level within 2 percentage points of last year's rating.

"Our goal is to encourage more students to receive some sort of post-secondary training," Davis said. "We are trying to improve access for our students by having State Fair Community College offer classes and programs here at our Eldon High School campus. We believe that education is the key to our success as a community."

Introductory article:

State's MSIP 5 ranks performance, progress of 21 area schools

How 21 Mid-Missouri school districts fared: