Two Rivers continues to be one of the highest-performing school networks in the District
On August 16th the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) released the statewide 2018 PARCC results in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. Two Rivers was again named one of the highest performing school networks in DC!
Two Rivers students scored among the highest in the city in both ELA and Math in 2017-18. Our students significantly outperformed the DCPS average, the charter average, and the state average.
Two Rivers students outperformed the statewide average by 6% percentage points in ELA and 9% percentage points in Math.
Two Rivers students made growth on PARCC over the past year
By analyzing the data for only students who took PARCC at Two Rivers in both 2016-17 and 2017-18, we can more precisely calculate the growth of students who have stayed with us over time. This analysis indicates that our returning students made real growth on PARCC during the 2017-18 academic year.
Two Rivers students outperformed the state average in almost every demographic category
The diversity of our community is one of our most fundamental strengths as an organization. Accordingly, we’re excited to share that our students outperformed the state average in almost every demographic category, including surpassing the state averages for African American, Hispanic/Latino, and White students.
We are particularly proud of the success of our Hispanic/Latino students, whose passing rate significantly surpassed that of the state.
Two Rivers’ results reflect our commitment to students with special needs
Two Rivers utilizes an inclusive model to serve all students, including students with disabilities. Our commitment to inclusion is at the heart of our mission; our core value of “learn better together” reminds us that the best learning happens in diverse communities of varying abilities and perspectives. In 2017-18, we exceeded the state in both the proficiency rates for students with special needs and the percentage of students with special needs served.
- Performance of students with disabilities – In 2017-18, Two Rivers’ proficiency rate for students with disabilities exceeded that of the city, with 9% of our students proficient in reading and 13% proficient in math, compared to 6% proficiency rates across D.C. in both subjects.
- Commitment to serving students with disabilities – In the 2017-18 academic year, 17% of Two Rivers’ students received special education services, compared to 14% across D.C.
- Powerful results from Two Rivers at Young – In its first year of participation in the PARCC exam, students with special needs at Two Rivers at Young nearly tripled the statewide proficiency rate in math, with 17% of Two Rivers students proficient compared to 6% statewide.
Two Rivers eighth graders shine on the high school Algebra exam
Last year, an accelerated group of Two Rivers eighth graders embarked on a rigorous course of Algebra study, culminating in an exam that is typically taken by high school students. 63% of those students passed the exam, significantly exceeding the 45% of 8th grade students that passed this exam across the District.
We also want to highlight our results for historically underserved groups of students:
- 53% of the 8th graders in the Algebra program who are African-American or Hispanic/Latino earned a proficient score on the high school Algebra PARCC, compared to 31.0% across the state.
- 50% of the 8th graders in the Algebra program who qualify as “at-risk” earned a proficient score on the high school Algebra PARCC, compared to 21.7% across the state.
This year we will be providing not only Algebra, but also Geometry, offering additional opportunities for 8th grade students to engage with high school content while enrolled in middle school.
Although we are proud of our students’ results on PARCC, we know that we have work to do to ensure that all of our students truly have the academic and social skills to succeed in high school and college. For the first time this year, a small group of students at Two Rivers at Young took the PARCC exam. The results from that campus, which earned a Tier 1 rating on the Public Charter School Board’s Performance Management Framework (PMF) last year, demonstrate that we must redouble our efforts to ensure that all of our students have the support they need to perform at the highest level. We have complete confidence in our leadership, staff, and students, and we look forward to a powerful year of growth, achievement, and joyful learning in 2018-19.
We also know that the skills measured by PARCC are necessary but insufficient to prepare our students to be lifelong learners; equally important are critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and character. We believe that our hands-on, interdisciplinary, project-based learning model nurtures all of these skills in our students, ensuring that they master not only the basic skills measured by PARCC but also the broader range of competencies required for success.
For more information about PARCC and the 2018 statewide PARCC scores, please visit osse.dc.gov/parcc. OSSE will release individual student results, and they will be mailed home in September. If you have general questions or want more information about the assessments, please contact David Nitkin, Chief of Staff, at dnitkin@tworiverspcs.org.