E.P. Schools' 'Report Cards' Show Mixed Results

The East Providence schools got their “report cards” from the state last week with mixed results.

Six of the city’s schools got grades of “typical” or “leading” based on the RI Department of Education grades for meeting annual measurable objectives (AMOs). 

Five of the schools got “warning” or “priority” grades.

What do the grades actually mean?

Schools earn "quality points" based on meeting the needs of the different “populations” of students in the schools, said Julie Motta, East Providence’s new director of education. The maximum score is 100.

Among the 12 “populations” measured are African-American, Asian, Hispanic, White, multi-racial, students with disabilities, English-language learners and economically disadvantaged.

So, the grades provide important information on different populations of students while also measuring the performance of the students as a whole, she said.

“They tell us which populations need intervention,” Cotta said. “They help us identify where we are closing the gaps.”

The NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) scores drive the process, Cotta said, although attendance and graduation rates are taken into account as well.

“It really is all about NECAP, though,” Motta said. 

A school with less than 50 quality points is given a “warning” label – such as Whiteknact, Orlo Avenue, Kent Heights and Oldham, which has been closed and its students transferring to Waddington.

A school with 50 to 69 quality points is “typical” – such as the high school, both middle schools, Waddington and Silver Spring.

A “leading” school – such as Francis – must accumulate 70 or more quality points.

Hennessey is the only school in East Providence on the “priority” list -- a label it got two years ago after “an unusual dip” in scores, said Motta.

“It must be a priority school for three years before it can change no matter what the progress made,” she said 

Hennessey School’s 50.17 score this year, for instance, would make it typical without the three-year label from RIDE.

Overall, Motta said, the report cards show that progress is being made in just about all the schools for all populations.

“Of course, we want all the schools to be typical or leading,” she said. “We’ll never be satisfied with a warning or a priority.”